Conductor James Gaffigan to Lead Chicago Symphony, NSO & San Francisco Symphony in Spring 2026
Yo-Yo Ma will join Gaffigan at San Francisco Symphony for Elgar's Cello Concerto.
American conductor James Gaffigan will finish his 2025/2026 season with a string of high-profile guest engagements across the U.S., bringing him to the National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
In a new addition to his schedule, Gaffigan will now conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on May 21, 22, and 23, 2026, stepping in for the originally scheduled Pekka Kuusisto due to a change in travel plans. The program includes Kreisler's Violin Concerto in C Major, featuring CSO Assistant Concertmaster Yuan-Qing Yu as soloist, along with Grieg's Holberg Suite, Haydn's Symphony No. 101 in D Major (The Clock), and Anna Clyne's Sound and Fury.
On May 29 and 30, 2026, Gaffigan conducts the National Symphony Orchestra in a program evoking bucolic American landscapes, opening with Ives' Three Places in New England, followed by Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite-a radiant work of optimism crowned by its iconic "Shaker" melody. The program closes with Mahler's Symphony No. 1, charting a youthful wayfarer's journey through darkness to a triumphant, heroic climax.
On June 1, 2026, Yo-Yo Ma joins the San Francisco Symphony as Gaffigan conducts Elgar's Cello Concerto, paired on this program with Mozart's Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter."
From June 11 to June 13, 2026, Gaffigan conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in the orchestra's tribute to 250 years of American history. The program will feature Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety," performed alongside Gershwin's Overture from Girl Crazy, Weill's Lady in the Dark, Symphonic Nocturne, and a selection of Spirituals for Gospel Choir and Orchestra, performed with the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir.
In the final engagement of his season, from June 18 to June 21, 2026, Gaffigan returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, joined by soprano Jessica Faselt, mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor, tenor Thomas Cooley, bass Peixin Chen, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, directed by Jenny Wong.
Gaffigan's spring schedule caps a 2025/2026 season highlighting his versatility and artistic leadership. He made his return to the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, to lead Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in a production of Salome. He also returned to the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg for a concert of music inspired by the works of Shakespeare and conducted director Francesca Zambello's acclaimed production of Porgy and Bess at the Houston Grand Opera. In concert, he led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of Mozart's Requiem at the Hollywood Bowl.
These performances complemented his third season as General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin, where his contract was extended through summer 2030, and coincided with his appointment as the fifth Music Director in Houston Grand Opera's 70-year history.
Sound and Fury
Symphony Center | Chicago, IL
Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 7:30pm; Friday, May 22, 2026 at 1:30pm; Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 7:30pm
Link: cso.org/performances/25-26/cso-classical/sound-and-fury/http://cso.org/performances/25-26/cso-classical/sound-and-fury/
Program:
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Kreisler - Violin Concerto in C Major (In the Style of Vivaldi)
Anna Clyne - Sound and Fury
Haydn - Symphony No. 101 in D Major (The Clock)
Yuan-Qing Yu, violin
Appalachian Spring & Mahler's First
Kennedy Center | Washington, D.C.
Friday, May 29, 2026 & Saturday, May 30, 2026 at 8:00pm
Link: www.kennedy-center.org/nso/home/2025-2026/gaffigan/
Program:
Charles Ives - Three Places in New England
Aaron Copland - Appalachian Spring Suite
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 1
Yo-Yo Ma and Gaffigan with the SF Symphony
Davies Symphony Hall | San Francisco, CA
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 7:30pm
Link: www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2025-26/YO-YO-MA
Program:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony No. 41
Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Gaffigan, Thibaudet & Bernstein
Symphony Center | Chicago, IL
Thursday, June 11 at 7:30pm; Friday, June 12 at 1:30pm; Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 7:30pm
Link: www.cso.org/performances/25-26/cso-classical/gaffigan-thibaudet-bernstein/
Program:
Kurt Weill (arr. R.R. Bennett) - Lady in the Dark, Symphonic Nocturne
Hogan - Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel
Hailstork - I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes
George Gershwin (orch. Rose) - Overture to Girl Crazy
Halloran - Witness
Johnson (arr. Carter) - Lift Every Voice and Sing
Leonard Bernstein - Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety"
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir
Beethoven's Ninth with Gaffigan
Davies Symphony Hall | San Francisco, CA, USA
Thursday, June 18, 2026; Saturday, June 20, 2026; Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 7:30pm
Link: www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2025-26/GAFFIGAN-CONDUCTS-BEETHOVEN-9
Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9
Soloists:
Jessica Faselt, soprano
Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Peixin Chen, bass
Photo Credit: Miguel Lorenzo
Videos