Conductor James Gaffigan Reveals 2026-2027 Season Highlights

Conductor James Gaffigan is known worldwide for his equal prowess as a conductor of symphony orchestras and opera. He holds unique prominence among American conductors in Europe, beginning his fourth season as General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin, where he conducts Barrie Kosky's production of Porgy and Bess – the company's first staging of the Gershwin opera in five decades – along with Kosky's production of The Golden Cockerel, Evgeny Titov's production of Król Roger, and Dagmar Manzel's production of Hänsel und Gretel, along with multiple symphonic concerts. In the launch of his tenure as Music Director Designate of Houston Grand Opera, he leads the company's production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and its annual Concert of Arias, before taking on the role of Music Director in the 2027-2028 season.

In a highlight of his guest-conducting schedule, Gaffigan leads the World Premiere of Wynton Marsalis's Symphony No. 5 “Liberty” with the National Symphony Orchestra and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Among his other U.S. engagements, he leads the San Francisco Symphony in a collaborative performance with LINES Ballet, and returns to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a program featuring Alisa Weilerstein. His European schedule brings him to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, where he conducts the Dutch premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra, and to engagements with the Orchestre de Paris, Munich Philharmonic, and Luzerner Sinfonieorchester.

During the summer of 2026, Gaffigan appeared at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland as Music Director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra, a role he has held since 2021. He went on to conduct Wynton Marsalis's Symphony No. 1, “All Rise” in the opening concert of the Edinburgh International Festival, leading an assemblage of more than 200 musicians including Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, and the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers. Conducting at the BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, he led the UK Premiere of Marsalis's Concerto for Orchestra, a BBC co-commission, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Wynton Marsalis's Symphony No. 5 “Liberty”

In his first engagement of the season, Gaffigan conducts the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap's Filene Center in the World Premiere of Wynton Marsalis's Symphony No. 5 “Liberty.” The orchestra will be joined in this performance by Marsalis himself on trumpet, along with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), where he serves as Artistic Director. Co-commissioned in honor of America250 by the NSO, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, and others, the new work blends jazz, blues, and orchestral sounds in a rousing celebration of the American story. The World Premiere marks one of the early highlights of Marsalis's final season as Artistic Director of the JLCO.

Carlisle Floyd's Susannah

From October 23 to November 8, 2026, Gaffigan leads Houston Grand Opera in his first appearance as Music Director Designate, conducting HGO's season-opening production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah. Soprano Angel Blue sings the title role opposite baritone Rod Gilfry. The production, directed by Patricia Racette, is part of HGO's centenary celebration of Carlisle Floyd, the pioneering American composer, librettist, and educator who enjoyed a decades-long collaborative relationship with the company.

San Francisco Symphony

Gaffigan goes on to a return engagement with the San Francisco Symphony on November 19, 20, and 21, 2026, as the symphony stages its latest collaboration with choreographer Alonzo King and LINES Ballet. For this program, performances of Debussy's evocative Prélude à L'Après-midi d'un faune and Copland's Suite from Appalachian Spring will be complemented by an enchanting live dance performance choreographed to the music. The program also showcases SF Symphony Principal Cello Rainer Eudeikis as featured performer on Prokofiev's Sinfonia concertante – the composer's dynamic “cello concerto in all but name.”

"Love Fantasies" at Komische Oper Berlin

On November 27, 2026, Gaffigan makes his first appearance of the season as General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin, where he conducts a symphonic concert, “Love Fantasies,” bringing together great Classical repertoire on romantic themes. Strauss's tone poem Don Juan, along with his Six Songs to poems by Clemens Brentano, are paired on this program with Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor, composed in a spirit of devotion to his new wife Clara.

Munich Philharmonic

On December 4, 5, and 6, 2026, Gaffigan returns to the Munich Philharmonic, where he leads a program pairing Korngold's The Sea Hawk – a landmark composition in early Hollywood “movie music” – with John Williams' Horn Concerto, featuring soloist Matías Piñeira, and selections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.

Hänsel und Gretel

He returns to Komische Oper Berlin to conduct Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, staged as a vibrant dreamscape in this fantastical production by Dagmar Manzel. Performances will be held December 6, 15, 19, 21, and 29, 2026, before continuing the new year on January 8 and 23, 2027.

New Year's Day Concert

He also conducts the company's New Year's Day Concert on January 1, 2027. The program – a “closely guarded secret” crafted in part by actor Max Hopp, who will also appear in the live performance – will be announced later in the season.

Król Roger

Gaffigan continues his schedule with Komische Oper Berlin for its production of Król Roger, Karol Szymanowski's tale of enlightenment based on the historical King Roger II, a 12th-century ruler of Sicily. This production of the opera by Evgeny Titov will be the first ever staged by a Berlin opera house. Performances will be held January 30; February 5; and March 4, 8, 13, 21, and 29, 2027.

Poulenc's Concerto for Organ

On February 10 and 11, 2027, he makes his return to the Orchestre de Paris, joined by organist Alma Bettencourt for a performance of Poulenc's Concerto for Organ. The program also includes Fauré's Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande, Debussy's Prélude à L'Après-midi d'un faune, and Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy.

Magnus Lindberg's Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra

Returning to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic on February 20, 2027, he conducts the orchestra in the Netherlands Premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra, commissioned by the NTR Saturday Matinee series for the Dutch piano duo of brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen, who perform the work for this concert. Revueltas' Sensemayá and Stravinsky's The Firebird – a rare performance of the entire work – complete the program.

Concert of Arias

On February 26, 2027, Gaffigan returns to Houston Grand Opera to conduct the Concert of Arias, the live final round of the company's 39th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. The competition is held each year to identify the most promising emerging talents in the field and recruit them to HGO's prestigious training program for young artists, the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio.

Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante

Gaffigan then returns to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for three performances featuring cellist Alisa Weilerstein on Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante, paired with Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 4. Performances will be held March 18 and 20, 2027 at Chicago's Symphony Center, and March 19, 2027 at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. This marks the sixth consecutive season in which Gaffigan has appeared as a guest-conductor with the CSO.

The Golden Cockerel

He returns to Komische Oper Berlin for The Golden Cockerel, presented in Barrie Kosky's striking and mystical production of Pushkin's dark fairy tale. Performances will take place on March 27; April 2, 10, 18, and 24; and May 1, 2027.

Britten's Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra

On April 9, 2027, he conducts Komische Oper Berlin in a symphonic concert featuring Britten's Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, a late “rediscovery” among his works that was first performed more than 20 years after the composer's death. Violinist Ga­bri­el Ad­or­ján and violist Friedemann Slenczka will perform as soloists. The program also includes Mozart's Ballet Music from Idomeneo and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15 in A major.

Luzerner Sinfonieorchester Concerts

Gaffigan returns to the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, where he once served as Chief Conductor, for a pair of concerts in Italy: April 27, 2027 in Reggio Emilia and April 28, 2027 in Fermo. The program for both nights will be a pairing of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor.

Porgy and Bess

From May 9 to June 5, 2027, the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess will be staged at Komische Oper Berlin for the first time since the 1970s, as Gaffigan conducts Barrie Kosky's new production of the opera.

Haydn's Symphony No. 45

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