Conductor
James Gaffigan
American conductor James Gaffigan, known for his lightness and exceptional collaborative spirit, has attracted international attention as a conductor of symphony orchestras and operas. He has been General Music Director of the Komische Oper Berlin since the 2023/24 season. He was Music Director of the Paulau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia for four years and Principal Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2021.
Gaffigan is in high demand as a guest conductor with leading orchestras and opera houses in North America and Europe. In the 2025/26 season, he will return to orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West and Houston Grand Opera, where he will conduct Porgy and Bess. In Europe, he will work with orchestras such as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Les Arts Valencia and the Verbier Festival. In the 2025/26 season, Gaffigan will take over as musical director at the Komische Oper Berlin in productions such as Evgeny Titov’s Salome and Barrie Kosky’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, as well as in revivals of Eugene Onegin, Hansel and Gretel and The Nose. Gaffigan attaches particular importance to appealing to young audiences and will take on the musical direction of formats such as children’s concerts at the Komische Oper Berlin.
Gaffigan is in high demand as a guest conductor with leading orchestras and opera houses in North America and Europe. In the 2025/26 season, he will return to orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West and Houston Grand Opera, where he will conduct Porgy and Bess. In Europe, he will work with orchestras such as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Les Arts Valencia and the Verbier Festival. In the 2025/26 season, Gaffigan will take over as musical director at the Komische Oper Berlin in productions such as Evgeny Titov’s Salome and Barrie Kosky’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, as well as in revivals of Eugene Onegin, Hansel and Gretel and The Nose. Gaffigan attaches particular importance to appealing to young audiences and will take on the musical direction of formats such as children’s concerts at the Komische Oper Berlin.
He has recently performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Staatskapelle Berlin. In North America, Gaffigan regularly works with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Gaffigan, who is passionate about promoting young musical talent, grew up in New York City and attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts before beginning his conducting studies.