Peter Besheer

Peter Besheer lived a full, creative and pioneering Life. His complex personality was a rare amalgam of elements, an intellect and artistic nature that benefited all who knew him. In his 80 years, he was a man of remarkable accomplishments.

He was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York on April 30, 1945, to Peter Said Besheer and Anna Shashaty Besheer, of Lebanese and Syrian descent. They infused him with values of honesty and hard work as they nurtured his artistic and inquisitive nature. Peter’s love of opera and classical music was borne of his father’s passion for Mozart and Gigli. Peter loved his parents deeply. His sister, Nazha Beshara, and brother, Matthew Besheer, predeceased him.

He was in the second graduating class of Xaverian High School and was a gifted athlete in basketball and baseball. He attended Fordham University majoring in History, Philosophy and Theology, even while also serving in ROTC.  After college he joined Grey Advertising before quickly starting his own magazine representation and consulting firm, Sales Arm, Inc. , whose client list included Cosmopolitan (where he worked directly with publisher Frank Dupuy Jr. and editor Helen Gurley Brown), Financial Executive Magazine, Westways and Financial Analysts Journal (working directly with Jack Treynor).  At a very young  age, he was invited as a Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business for marketing.

His lifelong passion for and deep knowledge of classical music soon gave rise to a vision that translated into a weighty ambition: to make classical music more accessible to the public. He founded Concert Music Network, Inc. and Concert Music Satellite System, Inc., and despite every adversity, he built the first satellite system to simulcast live classical music performances across America on all commercial and 110 public classical music radio stations, with broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony and others. He was the executive producer of over 225 programs broadcast on Concert Music Network. During this time he also acquired KHFM-96.3FM, a classical radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico and turned it into the highest Arbitron-rated classical music station in the country, and KHFN-1050AM, which he converted into the first all-news radio station in Albuquerque. He sold both stations in 2001. Over the next two decades, Peter focused on consulting with businesses across the country and bringing them to profitability, including radio stations, satellite communication manufacturers, a commercial farm, a software genome council and a multitude of other firms.

Peter Besheer was ‘A Man For All Seasons’, a deep and careful thinker, philosopher, avid reader, and history buff who was engaged in an abiding love of Classical Music, Art and Opera. He was a true enthusiast who created and enjoyed life’s adventures: hiking, fishing, summers on Block Island, gardening. For all his vast knowledge on a myriad of subjects and the depth of his introspections, he was in no way the sober intellectual, but a uniquely engaging personality filled with light and a ready laugh, always interested in others, and with an innate and genuine warmth that made him welcome...even in a crowd of strangers. He was above all a man of sterling integrity who lived his life with a spirit of contribution and without artifice. His sensibilities were pure and authentic; his will was stronger than his body. With age, he bore life’s hardships with extraordinary grace. He enjoyed a good pipe which became synonymous with him. Peter Besheer’s irreplaceable Light, his kindness, generosity, intellect and wit will remain a Blessing for all who knew him.

Peter departed this world on August 17, 2025, in Wilton, New York, and will be buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. He is survived by Janet, his wife of 43 years, and daughters Kirsten and Hana. The family is grateful to Ed Spielman for his contribution to this obituary.

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