Francesco Milioto, born in Toronto of Italian parentage, marks his third season as principal conductor of the Highland Park Strings. Previously, he served as assistant conductor for two years under Francis Akos. Acclaimed by the Chicago Tribune as "one of the best young conductors working in the Chicago area," Milioto also has become one of the busiest musicians with a high profile in a variety of pursuits..

He is active on the podium as opera and symphonic conductor, and from the keyboard as chamber musician, collaborative pianist and vocal coach. Since 2003, he has been engaged as a regular rehearsal pianist and assistant conductor at the Ravinia Festival where, in 2009, he worked closely with Maestro James Conlon, the CSO and soloists on productions of Verdi's Rigoletto, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.

This season will see Milioto return to Chicago Opera Theater as assistant conductor and chorus master for productions of Rossini's Moses in Egitto and Jack Heggie's Three Decembers. Other ongoing Milioto projects are as music director and conductor of the Chicago Cultural Center Annual Summer Opera, the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra and the New Millennium Orchestra, which he also co-founded. In addition to the Cultural Center, the NMO performed for the first time for a Ravinia Kraft Kids Concert in 2009 and will debut this year at the Harris Theater.