Peyman Farzinpour has built a career by refusing to choose just one lane. Conductor. Composer. Multimedia producer. Professor. Arts entrepreneur. Each role connects to a single idea that has guided his work for decades: music should evolve with the world around it.
“I never saw music as something frozen in time,” Farzinpour has said. “For me, it’s a living system that responds to technology, culture, and how people experience art today.”
That mindset has shaped a career that spans major orchestras, experimental stages, universities, and international concert halls.
Early Life and Education: A Broad Creative Foundation
Farzinpour’s path into music was never narrow. He attended Windward School for high school before pursuing a dual-track education that blended the arts and humanities. He studied English Literature at Johns Hopkins University while also training in guitar and composition at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
“That balance mattered,” he has said. “Studying literature helped me think about structure, meaning, and narrative, not just notes on a page.”
He later earned a master’s degree in music composition and conducting from UC Davis, followed by doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan, Italy. His time in Europe deepened his exposure to contemporary music and experimental performance traditions that would later define his work.
Launching a Career With the LA Phil and LACMA
Farzinpour began his professional career with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, an environment that exposed him to top-tier orchestral performance and forward-thinking programming. He soon took on a key role as Director of New Music at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
At LACMA, he designed innovative concert programs that pushed beyond traditional formats. These efforts earned first place from ASCAP and Chamber Music America for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music.
“We were asking how people actually encounter music in a museum setting,” he recalled. “That meant rethinking the concert experience itself.”
Leading Orchestras and Expanding the Definition of Performance
Over the years, Farzinpour has served as Music Director and Conductor for several orchestras, including Erato Philharmonia in Los Angeles, the Rivers Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts, and the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra. Each role allowed him to combine standard repertoire with contemporary works and multimedia elements.
He also served as Conductor in Residence with Opera Cabal, where he led the world-staged premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s opera ATTHIS at The Kitchen in New York City. The sold-out performances were described by The New York Times as a “mesmerizing production.”
“That project showed how far audiences are willing to go when the experience is honest and immersive,” Farzinpour said.
ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX and Multimedia Innovation
Farzinpour’s most distinctive contribution may be his work with ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX and Sinfonietta Notturna, where he serves as Executive and Artistic Director and Conductor. ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX became the first music ensemble to commission and perform every composition alongside a new multimedia work created specifically for that piece.
“Music does not exist in isolation anymore,” he explained. “People process sound visually, emotionally, and spatially at the same time.”
Collaborations with video artists, choreographers, and dance companies have become a hallmark of his concerts. These performances challenge traditional concert expectations while remaining grounded in musical rigor.
Educator and Mentor in Higher Education
Alongside performance, Farzinpour has maintained a strong presence in education. He has held faculty positions at Berklee College of Music and UMass Dartmouth, teaching conducting, composition, music theory, history, and even courses like The Art of Rock & Roll.
Teaching, he says, keeps him connected to emerging ideas. “Students don’t let you get comfortable,” he noted. “They ask questions that force you to rethink assumptions.”
He has also led contemporary music performances at institutions such as Tufts University, Miami University, Syracuse University, and at renowned venues like National Sawdust in Brooklyn and the Conservatoire Maurice Ravel in Paris.
Composer, Award Recipient, and Arts Entrepreneur
Farzinpour’s compositions have been performed across the United States, Canada, and Europe by ensembles such as the MDI Ensemble of Milan, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and the June in Buffalo Chamber Orchestra. His work reflects the same openness found in his conducting, blending structure with experimentation.
He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Berklee Faculty Fellowship, multiple grants from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and support from the American Composers Forum. He has also served as composer in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada.
Today, through Farzinpour Creative Music & Multimedia Ventures, he continues to operate at the intersection of art, leadership, and innovation.
“I see my role as building platforms,” Farzinpour said. “Platforms where music, technology, and human experience can meet in meaningful ways.”
With a career that spans continents and disciplines, Peyman Farzinpour has emerged as a leader not by following tradition, but by expanding it.
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