Peyman Farzinpour Advocates for a New Model of Music and Arts Leadership

Peyman Farzinpour Advocates for a New Model of Music and Arts Leadership

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / February 2, 2026 / Internationally active conductor, composer, and multimedia innovator Peyman Farzinpour is raising awareness around the urgent need for the performing arts to evolve in how music is created, taught, and experienced. Drawing on decades of work across orchestras, universities, museums, and experimental stages, Farzinpour advocates a more integrated, accessible, and forward-looking approach to music and arts leadership.

“Music has always reflected the world around it,” Farzinpour said. “If the way people experience culture has changed, then the way we present and teach music has to change as well.”

The Case for Innovation in the Arts

The performing arts sector continues to face significant challenges. According to a 2023 report from the National Endowment for the Arts, attendance at traditional classical music performances has declined by more than 30% over the past two decades, particularly among younger audiences. At the same time, research from Americans for the Arts shows that audiences are more likely to engage with performances that incorporate visual media, storytelling, or interdisciplinary collaboration.

“These numbers aren’t a failure of music,” Farzinpour explained. “They’re a signal that audiences want experiences that speak to how they live, think, and perceive the world today.”

Farzinpour’s work with ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX directly addresses this shift. The group became the first ensemble to commission and perform every new composition alongside an original multimedia work created specifically for that piece, blending music with video, movement, and visual art.

“When sound, image, and space work together, people listen differently,” he said. “They’re not just hearing music. They’re inside it.”

Education as the Foundation for Change

As a former associate professor at Berklee College of Music and a longtime educator, Farzinpour believes change must begin in education. He has taught conducting, composition, music theory, history, and popular music studies, consistently encouraging students to think beyond traditional boundaries.

“Students don’t need to be protected from experimentation,” Farzinpour said. “They need permission to explore it.”

Data supports this approach. A 2022 study by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals found that arts programs emphasizing interdisciplinary learning and contemporary relevance were 40% more likely to retain students than strictly traditional programs.

“Education should prepare artists for the world they’re entering, not the one that existed fifty years ago,” he added.

Leadership That Builds Cultural Relevance

Farzinpour’s career spans leadership roles with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Opera Cabal in New York, and orchestras across the United States and Europe. His programming at LACMA earned first place from ASCAP and Chamber Music America for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music.

“Leadership in the arts isn’t about preserving tradition at all costs,” he said. “It’s about stewarding it forward.”

He argues that arts leaders must act as builders rather than gatekeepers, creating platforms where composers, performers, visual artists, and audiences can meet in meaningful ways.

A Call to Action for Artists and Audiences

Rather than calling for sweeping institutional reform, Farzinpour encourages individuals to take simple, personal steps to support the future of the arts:

• Attend performances that experiment with format or collaboration

• Support new music and living composers

• Encourage arts education that blends disciplines

• Stay curious about unfamiliar styles and experiences

• Create space for dialogue between artists and audiences

“The future of music doesn’t belong to institutions alone,” Farzinpour said. “It belongs to everyone who shows up with openness and curiosity.”

Shaping the Future of Music Together

As performing arts organizations continue to navigate shifting cultural landscapes, Farzinpour believes that relevance, innovation, and education must move together.

“Music has survived for centuries because it adapts,” he said. “Our responsibility now is to help it adapt honestly, without fear.”

Through his work as a conductor, composer, educator, and arts entrepreneur, Peyman Farzinpour continues to advocate for a performing arts ecosystem that is bold, inclusive, and deeply connected to contemporary life.

About Peyman Farzinpour
Peyman Farzinpour is an internationally active conductor, composer, multimedia producer, educator, and arts entrepreneur. He is the Executive and Artistic Director of ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX and Sinfonietta Notturna, and Director of Farzinpour Creative Music & Multimedia Ventures. His work spans orchestral, operatic, and interdisciplinary performance across the United States and Europe.

Media Contact
Peyman Farzinpour
info@peyman-farzinpour.com
www.peyman-farzinpour.com

SOURCE: Peyman Farzinpour

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