Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Rossen Milanov is currently the music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and newly appointed chief conductor of the Slovenian RTV Orchestra in Ljubljana.

Milanov has established himself as a conductor with considerable national and international presence. He recently completed a seven-year tenure as music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain. Nationally, he has appeared with the Colorado, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Seattle, and Fort Worth symphonies, National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Link-Up education projects with Carnegie Hall and 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 (South Africa), Mexico, Colombia, Sao Paolo, Belo Horizonte, and New Zealand. In the Far East, he has appeared with NHK, Sapporo, Tokyo, and Singapore symphonies, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, and Malaysian and Hong Kong Philharmonics.

Milanov has collaborated with some of the world’s preeminent artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff, and André Watts. During his 11-year tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milanov conducted more than 200 performances. In 2015, he completed a 15-year tenure as music director of the nationally recognized training orchestra Symphony in C in New Jersey, and in 2013, a 17-year tenure with the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Under his leadership, the Columbus Symphony has expanded its reach by connecting original programming with communitywide initiatives such as focusing on women composers, nature conservancy, presenting original festivals, and supporting and commissioning new music. Milanov studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, where he received the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.

A passionate chef, he often dedicates his culinary talents to various charities.