John Freeman is a classical trumpet player and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Residing in downtown Oakland, John holds Principal Trumpet positions in four professional orchestras: San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Fresno Philharmonic, the Stockton Symphony, and the Marin Symphony. He is also a member of the Oakland Symphony, and the Opera San Jose Orchestra.  When he's not performing with these ensembles, he can often be found freelancing with groups such as the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, California Symphony, or the Santa Rosa Symphony, among many others. Before moving to the Bay Area, John was the Principal Trumpet of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina.

Originally from Charlotte, NC, John received bachelors and masters degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Michael Sachs and James Darling. John is now on faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division and the trumpet instructor at San Jose State University. In the past, he has served as adjunct trumpet professor at University of California, Davis; California State University, Stanislaus; West Valley College and Dominican University.  

As a soloist, John has recently performed the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the Stockton and Marin Symphonies, the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto with the Auburn Symphony, and the Hummel Trumpet Concerto with the Solano Symphony. He has performed Copland's Quiet City with San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and was recently a featured soloist in Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Marin Symphony.

Outside of solo and symphonic music, John has performed with a wide variety of other ensembles including brass quintets, Broadway pit orchestras, jazz big bands, salsa bands, and several rock bands including Metallica, The Postal Service, and Third Eye Blind.

John has recorded in many Bay Area recording studios such as Skywalker Sound, 25th Street Recording Studios, Tiny Telephone Studios, Fantasy Studios, and Trilogy Studios, among others. When he’s not performing or teaching music, John is an avid road cyclist and mountain biker, and also enjoys hiking, and home roasting coffee.