Finnish-American conductor Ari Pelto is Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, one of the rare conductors equally at home in the opera house, on the ballet stage, and in the symphony hall. His 2026–27 season, his first in the role, spans Verdi's Il trovatore, Beethoven with Michelle Cann, Orff's Carmina Burana, and Tchaikovsky with Gil Shaham. As Opera Colorado's first Music Director from 2015 to 2026, he led acclaimed productions from Aida and Carmen to the premieres of Korngold's Die tote Stadt and Lori Laitman's The Scarlet Letter. A longtime collaborator with Atlanta Ballet, he conducts across the United States, Europe, and Asia.