PSO Welcomes Rossen Milanov!

It gives us great pleasure to announce the appointment of Rossen Milanov as the new Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. This exciting news coincides with our 30th anniversary season and is the result of an intensive, two-year search by our distinguished and dedicated Search Committee. Maestro Milanov will assume his position this July. It is our dream-come-true to have him join us, and we know that his artistic vision for the orchestra will make this a pivotal moment in our history.

Rossen has been hailed by critics as one of the most promising figures in the upcoming generation of conductors-one who "bears watching by anyone who cares about the future of music." He currently holds the positions of Associate Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Artistic Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Rossen is also the Music Director of New Jersey's Symphony in C in Camden and the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. He has received the Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Bulgarian Culture, awarded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, and was chosen as Bulgaria's Musician of the Year in 2005.

Rossen approaches music-making in a uniquely expressive way that was immediately apparent when he conducted the PSO last April 2008. The amazing chemistry that flowed between conductor-and-orchestra and conductor-and-audience was instantaneous. He combines musicality, intelligence, kindness, elegance, and honesty, which results in deeply satisfying artistic experiences for everyone involved. This was what impressed our Search Committee most and made him our unanimous first choice.

In Rossen, we have also found a wonderful leader who is committed to keeping music performance vital and relevant to 21st century artistic sensibilities. He is extremely happy to be a part of the PSO, and plans to build on the orchestra's excellence in ways that will raise our profile within the larger family of American orchestras.

We hope that you will join us in welcoming Rossen to Princeton by subscribing this year. For his first landmark season, he will be conducting two of our Classical Series concerts, on January 24th and May 16th, and will be actively involved in all PSO activities, including our BRAVO! children's concerts.

In closing, we would like to thank you for your unwavering and enthusiastic support throughout our search. By coming to concerts and making contributions, you have strengthened the overall position of the PSO which is a tremendous welcome gift to our new conductor. We are delighted to be introducing him to you.