Freddie Freeman

Professor Fred Freeman piped for the Crown Princess of Japan during her visit to the University and has a soft spot for the graffiti that used to exist at the University library.

Your time at the University

I chose Edinburgh to work with several noted scholars at the School of Scottish Studies including John MacQueen, the director, Hamish Henderson, poet and songwriter and David Murison, father of the Scottish National Dictionary.

In 1976, I piped for The Crown Princess of Japan on her visit to the University. A memorable occasion; moreover, was when she officially accepted a copy of my EUP book (Robert Fergusson And The Scots Humanist Compromise) in Japan in 1984.

On the lighter side, for years I adored the graffiti, most of it unrepeatable (Spiny the Hedgehog, Squeezy), at the University library. A great pity the whole of it was eventually eradicated and never reappeared. Much good humour and bawdry, of which we have a great tradition in Scotland, has been lost.

I chose Edinburgh to work with several noted scholars at the School of Scottish Studies including John MacQueen, the director, Hamish Henderson, poet and songwriter and David Murison, father of the Scottish National Dictionary.

Tell us about your Experiences since leaving the University

Several times over – from 1982 onwards – I have been a postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies; the School of Scottish Studies; and the English Department at Edinburgh University. I spent two years in the late 80s as Senior Associate Member, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford and then lectured for the English Department, Edinburgh University in the mid-90s. I was Ross Roy Fellow at The University of South Carolina in 2000. 

From 1995 onwards, I have produced some 45 or so CDs of Scottish traditional music including ‘The complete songs of Robert Burns’ (12 vols, Linn Records, 1995-2003), and have published over 100 articles and chapters of books on Scottish literature, language, folk music. 

Over the years, I have been a guest lecturer in Ireland (NUI, Galway, Universities of Limerick and Cork); Belgium (Catholic University of Brussels); Netherlands (Universities of Leiden and Groningen); Italy (University of Bologna); Poland (Universities of Poznan, Krakow, Warsaw).  In April, 2014, The ASLS made me a lifetime Honorary Fellow, and some months later, I was appointed Lecturer in Scottish Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and in May 2015 Professor in Scottish Music. 

Alumni wisdom

‘A  gan fit is, aye, gettin’. If you are genuinely interested in your subject, always keep moving forward with it, irrespective of your circumstances, status, academic position or what have you. The great thing is the subject itself and your commitment to it.