[25] During Freeman-Attwood's principalship, the academy has received Taught Degree-Awarding Powers from the Privy Council, has appointed a roster of eminent conductors, instrumentalists and singers to join each department and make regular annual visits.
They include Semyon Bychkov, Barbara Hannigan, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, James Ehnes, Leif Ove Andsnes and John Wilson.
He has also overseen several transformational estate developments, including the building of the RIBA award-winning Susie Sainsbury Theatre and the Angel Burgess Recital Hall, as well as a practice facility and a suite of new studios.
[37] He discussed his career and views on the changing world of music education at length in an interview with Final Note Magazine in 2015[38] and in January 2023 he wrote for The Arts Desk, advocating for conservatoires prioritising making recordings.
Conducted between 2009 and 2018, Freeman-Attwood's 'Principal's Interviews' include extended exchanges with, amongst others, Dame Janet Baker, Sir Colin Davis, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph von Dohnányi and Oliver Knussen.
[42] The volume will also feature an extended essay on the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, based on an interview with Christian Thielemann after his recently completed recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for Sony Music.
Freeman-Attwood has also written and established authority on Bach interpretation for several journals[36], including over 30 years of reviewing mainly Baroque music for Gramophone.