He began his career as a flautist making his debut at the Salzburg Festival at the age of twenty with I Solisti Veneti.

After study with the Italian conductor Piero Bellugi, Conti gave up his career as a flautist to concentrate on conducting.

He brought a series of recordings in collaboration with Naxos focused on Italian opera: Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia, Donizetti’s La Figlia del Reggimento etc.

He raised funds, established connections with other institutions, and attracted a new, younger audience which raised the orchestra’s profile and quality enough to bring it to the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, securing a recording contract with Naxos and residency at the Nice Summer Festival, home of the prestigious international summer academy, where he had previously held the chair of flute studies after Jean-Pierre Rampal and Alain Marion.

Prepared during the school year, the work was a great success with audiences and critics alike and was instrumental in adding new subscribers to the orchestra.