Around 1908, the Freeman family moved to the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. In 1912, ragtime composer Scott Joplin, who was then living in New York, asked Freeman's help in revising his three-act opera, "Treemonisha," production of which had stalled the previous year. The extent of Freeman's help is unknown. In 1920, he opened the Salem School of Music on 133rd Street in Harlem, later renamed Freeman School of Music. Also in 1920, he founded the Negro Grand Opera Company, which produced several productions of his own works. Freeman's wife Carlotta and his son Valdo, a baritone, sang principal roles in many of the Negro Grand Opera Company's productions.