 Rising through the ranks of the company's technical and production departments, he was tapped by the San Jose Symphony to produce Bizet's "Carmen" in the 1977–78 season and Verdi's "La Traviata" the following season.In the meantime, the management of the Long Beach Symphony invited Milenski to mount his "Traviata" production under the aegis of Long Beach Grand Opera in March, 1979.With the success of that venture, Milenski quickly established the company independent of the Symphony and undertook a trial period of presenting standard operatic repertoire.