He has collaborated in several modern music ensembles including the Austin New Music Co-op, Knob Jobs, and the Gates Ensemble. In the past few years, he has collaborated with Phill Niblock, Ellen Fullman, Michael Pisaro, Radu Malfatti, Pauline Oliveros, Mary Oliver, and Arnold Dreyblatt. Fariss holds a Master's degree in Composition from Texas State University, where he also studied the contrabass. He is the recipient of two New Music USA grants for the compositions, "Dim Gleam" (2008) and "The Water Bowl" (2012). His goal in music is exploring the nature of sound (timbre), elevating it to the same level as melody, harmony, rhythm, and form.