Amirkhanian is a leading proponent of text-sound composition in the United States. Most of his works are electroacoustic. In a radical departure from his earlier, more spare and minimal style, his recent works typically incorporate ambient and found sounds manipulated via Synclavier. He has served as Music Director of KPFA FM in Berkeley since 1969. In 1988 he co-founded the annual summer Composer-to-Composer summit conference on new music, sponsored by the Telluride Institute in Colorado.