Pilafian participated in the National Music Camp in Interlochen, MI and was the second tuba player to win the concerto competition.
[2] He founded the Empire Brass with Rolf Smedvig and performed in the Broadway Musicals Doctor Jazz and Much Ado About Nothing.
Pilafian was also active in the jazz scene, having played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and, since 1991, in the duo Travelin' Light with guitarist Frank Vignola.
With the saxophonist Scott Zimmer, Pilafian also played the music of Maurice Ravel, Béla Bartók, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, and Captain Beefheart.
Dave Ohanian, Rolf Smedvig, Charles Lewis Jr., and Scott Hartman, all members of the Empire Brass at the time, also make appearances in this episode.