Meet Peter Xifaras

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Peter Xifaras. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Peter, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
Looking back at my childhood, my parents instilled a sense of empathy towards others early on. However, as with many children at a young age, it’s hard to grasp empathy based on the limited life experience of a child. It wasn’t until adulthood that I fully realized empathy which for me is a direct result from experiencing life’s journey and the knowledge that comes along with it, as well as those early childhood memories that may have seeped into my subconscious. I believe in the old adage that there are two sides to every story. I’ve experienced instances where a person’s actions may appear to be odd or irrational, however, as I continue to mature I try to avoid a quick rush to judgement by listening, understanding and empathizing – you never know what a person’s backstory is. Empathy towards the less fortunate has always been on my radar, I’m just able to recognize and act on it as an adult.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
At the age of nine I began taking guitar lessons and by my early teens I was doing gigs in local night clubs with rock & fusion bands. This pretty much solidified my future pathway as I decided to pursue music as a career. In high school I auditioned for the music curriculum at the University of Rhode Island (USA) and was told I needed to trade in my Gibson Les Paul for a Classical guitar in order to be accepted into the program. I heeded their advice and majored in guitar performance. Years later I started a record label, MusicWithNoExpiration.com®, to release my own compositions as well as those of my alter ego symphoneX Orchestra® with future plans to take on additional artists.

I’ve concentrated on musical works for ‘social change’. One of these being CHILDREN OF CONFLICT – a project for which I composed the music, mixed and produced the album. It is a contemporary Classical work for social change to bring attention to the plight of children of conflict. It is comprised of six short movements recorded in Prague by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Marek Štilec.

In light of recent events in places such as the Middle East & Ukraine, I felt compelled to create an artistic work to shine a light on this travesty of the human condition. Children of Conflict is a powerful work, championing social change for the world’s disadvantaged and war-stricken children in hope of raising awareness.

Each movement is recorded as a 4K music-video that plays an integral role in reinforcing the music’s message of empathy and can be viewed here:

For another social change project, I recently released a track, WHILE MY GUITAR WEEPS FOR MEHDI RAJABIAN which pays homage to the bravery and tenacity of the Iranian artist imprisoned, beaten & tortured who nearly died for his music. I promised him I would honor his sacrifice with this song for what he has endured as an artist. The track is from a jazz-fusion album titled FUSION with the theme ‘triumph over adversity’ that honored another artist as well, trumpeter Shunzo Ohno.

Mehdi became the first musician to win the United Nations’ second annual International Art Contest for Minority Artists. The honor, which went to three artists working with “themes relating to intersectionality and compounded forms of discrimination,” was presented to him in absentia because Rajabian, who has been jailed three times for his music, is unable to leave Iran.

The track can be viewed here:

Currently, I am working on this year’s release whose theme continues along the lines of the ‘music for social change’ mantra titled DYSTOPIAN WORLD. Another classical music project that delves into George Orwell’s fictional work, “1984”, and how it has become a reality in the dystopian state of our current world thru surveillance technology, free speech suppression, info manipulation, censorship, redefining language, privacy erosion, propaganda, individuality, groupthink, and the value of truth.

However, all is not lost. As George Orwell stated, “don’t let it happen, It depends on you.”

A preliminary preview can be seen here:

If the subject matter is of interest, feel free to Subscribe to the channel so that you can be alerted to when this album and associated music videos are released.

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?
I think the skills/qualities that help me the most on my journey are a strong work ethic, being passionate, and believing strongly in what I am trying to achieve.

A strong work ethic for me is putting in long hours to achieve the results aligned with my vision. Do not settle for just ok, get as close to perfection as possible.

To better the chances for success, be passionate about your work. Passion can be infectious to those around you who are likely to share in your devotion.

Believing strongly in what you are doing is critical to success. For example, I have two goals I believe in for the record label:

1. creating musical works that can stand the test of time. While there is nothing wrong with creating projects that have a limited window of consumption, my goal is to have listeners in the future appreciate the work long after I am gone.

2. creating musical works that have social significance. Creating these projects in combination with video has greatly increased the music’s message – that of social justice. Music combined with film can be a powerful force for change.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
As an independent musical artist, I can attest to the fact that streaming has been devastating to this community of creatives. Generating fractions of pennies for streams doesn’t begin to cover the cost of recording, manufacturing, releasing and the marketing of an album. My advice on how to best support your favorite musical artists is to buy their music and merch. Whether it’s a CD, Vinyl or music download, you get a tangible product with cool cover art and often interesting liner notes. Not to mention a better sound quality as streamed music is often compressed with a limited frequency range.

Here are my talking points on purchasing in lieu of streaming:
•No Wifi Needed
•No Advertisements
•No Monthly Subscription Fees
•No Compressed Frequencies
•High Bit-Rate Offers Superior Sound Quality
•Buy it Once, Own It For a Lifetime

Supporting artists in this manner enables them to finance their next project much to the benefit of their fans.

Contact Info:

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