Recognized worldwide for his natural ease and extraordinary collaborative spirit, American conductor James Gaffigan has attracted international attention for his equitable prowess as both a conductor of symphony orchestras and opera. He is the general music director of Komische Oper Berlin and the music director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, and he is music director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra. Gaffigan previously served as principal guest conductor of both the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera.

Recent orchestral appearances include London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Wiener Symphoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Norske Opera and Ballet, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Czech Philharmonic and Luzerner Symphonieorchester. In North America, Gaffigan regularly works with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, among others.

A regular at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Opéra National de Paris, Gaffigan has also conducted the Zürich Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Dutch National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Santa Fe Opera.

Passionate about music education and a product of the New York City public school system, Gaffigan believes that access to music education is the method by which America’s concert halls will finally begin to reflect our community and shrink the racial and gender gaps that currently exist in performing arts today.