rossen milanov
In his ninth season as music director with the Columbus Symphony, Rossen Milanov is highly regarded as a conductor with a significant national and international presence.
Music Director
Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Rossen Milanov is currently the Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Slovenian RTV Orchestra in Ljubljana.
Mr. Milanov has established himself as a conductor with considerable national and international presence. Past positions include Music Director of Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio, New Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, Symphony in C in New Jersey, and Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain. Nationally he has appeared with the Colorado, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Seattle, Fort Worth, Symphonies, and; National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Link-Up education projects with Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and with the Civic Orchestra in Chicago.
Internationally, he has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra de la Suisse Romand, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Aalborg, Latvian, and Hungarian National Symphony Orchestras and the orchestras in Toronto, Vancouver, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic in South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, Sao Paolo, Belo Horizonte, and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In the Far East he has appeared with NHK, Sapporo, Tokyo, Singapore Symphonies, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Malaysian, and Hong Kong Philharmonics.
Mr. Milanov has collaborated with some of the world’s preeminent artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff, Hilary Hahn, Dawn Upshaw, and André Watts among many others.
During his eleven-year tenure with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Milanov conducted more than 200 performances. In 2015, he completed 15-years tenure as Music Director of the nationally recognized training orchestra Symphony in C in New Jersey and in 2013 a 17-years tenure with the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. His passion for new music has resulted in numerous world premieres of works by composers such as Derek Bermel, Mason Bates, Caroline Shaw, Phillip Glass, Richard Danielpour, Nicolas Maw, and Gabriel Prokofiev, among others.
Noted for his versatility, Milanov is also a welcomed presence in the worlds of opera and ballet. He has collaborated with Komische Oper Berlin (Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk), Opera Oviedo with the Spanish premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Mazzepa and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle (awarded best Spanish production for 2015), Opera Columbus (Verdi’s La Traviata, Aida, Rigoletto, and Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin). At The Princeton Festival he conducted productions of Britten’s Albert Herring, Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg, and Rossini’s Barber of Seville.
An experienced ballet conductor he has been seen at New York City Ballet and collaborated with some of the best known choreographers of our time such Mats Ek, Benjamin Millepied, and most recently Alexei Ratmansky in the critically acclaimed revival of Swan Lake in Zurich with Zurich Ballet and in Paris with La Scala Ballet.
Mr. Milanov was the recipient of an Arts Prize by The Columbus Foundation.
Under his leadership the Symphony has expanded its reach by connecting original programing with community-wide initiatives such as focusing on women composers, nature conservancy, presenting original festivals, and supporting and commissioning new music.
In Princeton under his leadership the orchestra has established an excellent artistic reputation and has been recognized for its innovation and vital role in the community. Since 2022, Rossen Milanov is also the Music Director of The Princeton Festival.
Rossen Milanov studied conducting at the Bulgarian Music Academy, Tanglewood Music Center, Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and The Juilliard School in New York, where he received the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.
Mr. Milanov is an avid biker. A passionate chef, he often dedicates his culinary talents to various charities.
Rossen Milanov is a former scholarship recipient and current board member of Cyril and Methodius Foundation in Bulgaria.
