[1] Parmet began his career as a musician at the age of 15, when he was a dedicated pianist for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra,[2] although he would later study under Alexander Glazunov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory,[3] and later at the Helsinki Music Institute and the Berlin Conservatory following the Russian Revolution.

[4][5] Parmet was heavily influenced by his teacher, and would conduct many of Sibelius's works throughout his career, such as the American premiere of Luonnotar in 1952.

[8] In 1938, Parmet was invited by Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman to conduct the Palestine Symphony Orchestra.

During his time in the United States, Parmet worked as the music department head at the Margaret Hall School in Versailles, Kentucky.

[18] In the 1940s, Parmet temporarily moved from Finland to Elmira, New York[19] and Washington, D.C. while conducting orchestras in the United States.