Meet Peter Lepahin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Peter Lepahin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Peter below.

Peter, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

In the beginning, composers seemed like superhuman beings to me. I never thought I could call my self a composer. But then I realized that I need a change of perspective: if I want to compose music, I don’t have to be afraid of it! The method I found was joining different communities of composers, like Facebook groups etc. I suddenly found out that the world is full of composers (also having imposter syndrome) and you don’t have to be world famous or to have awards and prizes in order to call yourself a composer – you just have to compose music!
After a feature documentary score and a dozen production music albums, I still feel intimidated sometimes, when I hear the most talented colleagues, but I know that I am part of a much bigger and very inclusive, supportive community.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Although I have spent most of my life in the world of languages and worked in the language industry for many years (both in a translation company and as a freelance translator – which I still do), a few years ago I turned to my “other love” – music.
Creating and playing music has always been a part of my life, but mostly as a hobby. Since the Covid years, I have focused on it as a career, writing mostly production music for music libraries, as well as film and game music. Whenever I compose, I feel like it’s not work and it makes me very happy. It is a fulfilling and rewarding experience to be creative and to be able to help other people’s projects – be it a video game or a documentary – with my own music that is aligned with their vision.
At the moment, I am on my way to making music fill as much time as possible, while still being involved in translation projects. I like the variety of this freelance life. I am currently working on a mafia themed noir style video game score and some new production music albums for TV.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Friendliness – a little kindness goes a long way! As a freelancer, you work for a lot of “bosses,” but any one of them could be the client of your dreams – so treat them as such.
Time Management – one of the most important things in the world today is time – even in the creative business. If you learn to manage your time and stick to your schedule, you can get a lot further – in less time! 🙂
Curiosity – you need to stay open to all the changes, technological advances, and other trends in your art or business. What was good enough yesterday may not be good enough tomorrow, so keep up with what the industry leaders are doing and saying.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I often read so-called “self-help” books, although I don’t like that name. They should be called “self-improvement” books. Among the older classics, I really liked “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. I am currently reading “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield, and the next one will be “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. I can’t wait to get started!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Léna Lepahin, Tímea Lepahin-Papp, Endre Fleisz

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