Peter Peyman Farzinpour is a Los Angeles–based conductor, composer, multimedia producer, and arts entrepreneur. He has built a career that blends music, education, and business leadership into one focused path.
He began his professional work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and later became Director of New Music Programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. There, his programming earned First Prize from ASCAP and Chamber Music America for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. That recognition helped establish him as both a creative thinker and a strategic builder inside major institutions.
Farzinpour went on to lead orchestras in Massachusetts and Los Angeles, including Erato Philharmonia, the Rivers Symphony Orchestra, and the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra. He later founded ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX, a contemporary music and multimedia group known for pairing every commissioned piece with a newly created visual work. He also leads Sinfonietta Notturna in Los Angeles, where concerts combine performance with storytelling in intimate settings.
Alongside performance, he built Farzinpour Creative Music & Multimedia Ventures, designing custom immersive music experiences for events. His music is published by The American Composers Alliance and performed across North America and Europe.
Educated at the Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, UC Davis, and the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan, he has also taught at Berklee College of Music and UMass Dartmouth.
His career reflects a consistent theme. Blend creativity with structure. Take risks with intention. Build platforms, not just projects.
What does success mean to you now, compared to when you first started?
Early in my career, success meant getting on stage and proving I belonged there. I was focused on technical mastery and reputation. I wanted to conduct well and earn respect from musicians.
Now, success feels broader. It is about building systems and institutions that last beyond one performance. When I founded ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX, I was not just planning concerts. I was building a structure where composers, visual artists, and musicians could collaborate long term. That shift from individual achievement to platform building changed how I define success.
You’ve worked inside major institutions and also started your own ventures. What did you learn from that transition?
At the Los Angeles Philharmonic and LACMA, I learned how large cultural organizations function. Programming is not only about art. It is about budget, audience development, marketing, and timing.
When I launched my own ventures, especially Farzinpour Creative Music & Multimedia Ventures, I understood that artistic vision must align with operational clarity. You can design the most ambitious multimedia experience, but if your logistics fail, the idea collapses.
Success in business requires discipline. You need creative courage, but you also need planning and follow-through.
You studied under a lineage connected to Sergiu Celibidache. How did that shape your idea of achievement?
Celibidache and my teacher Emilio Pomarico emphasized total internal understanding of a score. Conducting by memory was not about ego. It was about deep preparation.
That mindset influenced my idea of success. You cannot shortcut depth. If you want a powerful performance, you must know the architecture of the music inside out. The same applies to entrepreneurship. You must understand your model, your costs, your audience, and your risks at a structural level.
Surface confidence does not replace preparation.
You’ve worked extensively with avant-garde music. Was that a risk?
Absolutely. Avant-garde repertoire is not always easy to sell. When we staged the U.S. premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s opera ATTHIS in New York, it was ambitious and intense. It required conviction from everyone involved.
But risk is part of growth. I have always believed that audiences respond to authenticity and immersion. With ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX, we paired each composition with custom multimedia. That made challenging music more accessible without simplifying it.
Sometimes success comes from reframing, not diluting.
You’ve also taught at Berklee and UMass Dartmouth. How does teaching fit into your idea of success?
Teaching keeps me honest. Students ask direct questions. They force you to clarify your thinking.
In the classroom, I focus on structure. Whether it is a conducting gesture or a business plan for an arts project, I ask students to think architecturally. What is the form? What is the long-term vision?
At the same time, I never believe in a one size fits all approach. Every student is an individual, with a different background, temperament, and set of strengths. Some respond to analytical breakdowns of the score. Others learn more deeply through physical gesture or intuitive listening. My responsibility as a teacher is to recognize those differences and adjust my approach accordingly. I work closely with each student to find the method that allows them to grow most effectively. Teaching, for me, is not about imposing a single system on everyone. It is about meeting each musician where they are and helping them develop their own voice and leadership style.
Success is easier when you understand form. That is true in music and in life.
What is one habit that has helped you most in your career?
Reflection after action. After each performance or project, I review what worked and what did not. Not emotionally. Structurally.
I look at pacing, audience engagement, team communication, financial planning. Improvement is rarely dramatic. It is incremental.
Consistency compounds. That may not sound glamorous, but it is real.
What advice would you give to someone pursuing success in the arts today?
Build more than a résumé. Build an ecosystem.
Your work, your collaborators, your digital presence, your audience relationships. They all matter. When your music is published and distributed, when your performances are documented, when your projects have a clear identity, momentum builds.
Success is not a single breakthrough moment. It is sustained alignment between vision, preparation, and execution.