At the age of eight years old, Parlier began to slowly regain his interest in music once again, and once again he began to pick up the piano, only teaching himself this time. Along with his interest in piano came his interest in composition.

With no prior knowledge of theory or notation, Parlier's compositions imediately became avante-garde both by ear and through site. This mindset gave Parlier an advantage over most composer's, because right away he understood ideas of great composers like Hindemith, Schönberg, and Stravinsky: Music has no guidelines. A scale is only the idea of one man who existed many years ago, but music is slowly moving away from the restriction of tonality.

At the age of sixteen, Parlier was already able play multiple instruments as a result of his desire for deeper knowledge of orchestration. Out of all the instruments, he formed a passion for the tuba and began studying at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with tubist Matt Ransom. It was at this time that he was introduced to Schönberg's twelve tone technique: a technique that greatly changed his approach to composition.

By the age of eighteen, Parlier's portfolio of compositions expanded rapidly until he finally decided to publish his first work Winter Music for Woodwind Quintet, Op. 1, a work that truly expressed the nature of his compositions.-