James Gaffigan: 12 Things to Know Right Now
The news is out: HGO has named its next Music Director! The sought-after conductor and arts leader James Gaffigan will soon join us here in Houston, partnering with General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor to lead HGO into the future.
Want to know more about him? He is, according to Dastoor, “today’s leading American conductor, who embodies a new generation of music-making at the highest level.” He’s had a celebrated career in Europe, leading esteemed houses including Komische Oper Berlin, where he’s the current General Music Director. He adores Schubert, Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss. Also: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, and wines from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Like all of us, James Gaffigan contains multitudes. Read on to learn 12 more fascinating facts about the newest member of our HGO family:
Growing up in New York, Gaffigan gravitated toward music from an early age, playing tunes by ear on the family piano. His parents weren’t wealthy, but they realized early on that he had a gift and did everything they could do support it. “They wanted to make sure I got the things that one needs to excel, taking out a loan for an instrument or sending me to private lessons,” he says today. “It was a challenge for them, but they made it work.”
He’s a Gen X-er. “When I was a student at LaGuardia High School, I dressed like a skater,” he once told VAN Magazine. “I was a skater, but I liked classical music. I was a very weird combination of going to Central Park, hanging out with my friends, and loving Wagner and Verdi.” His time in New York’s public schools led to his passionate advocacy, throughout his career, for the importance of music education and access to the arts.
Despite his affinity for grunge, his first love was “this quote-unquote classical music, or operatic music.” It was “the music that touched me the most…and I didn’t know why,” he says. “So, my mission as a musician was to get to the bottom of why this music moved me so much.” He realized he wanted to conduct at 17, fascinated by the way musicians moved and breathed together, the way scores unlocked the secrets of music, and their power to make people feel things.
He was made to conduct because he likes “organizing people.” “Whether that means throwing a great party and making sure everyone’s happy or cooking for people, I very much enjoy people coming together,” he says. “And there’s no other way that’s more grand than opera or symphonic writing, of bringing all these people together without using your words, but just by gestures, getting everyone to breathe and play together. It’s a beautiful thing.”
He’s split his career between opera and symphonic conducting, with opera occupying a unique place in his heart. “What I love most about opera are the singers and the idea that people don’t necessarily see me. I like being down there with the musicians and making the singers look as good as possible and sound as good as possible. I love the theater. I love the feeling that so many people are involved. There’s lighting, there’s the architects, the builders of the set, there’s the stage crew, there’s the orchestra, there’s the chorus, there’s the singers, there’s the director, the conductor. There’s so many pieces of the puzzle. I love that… And I truly feel the most comfortable in the opera pit with the orchestra than anywhere else in the world.”
He’s a Rice owl. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, Gaffigan studied conducting at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. “I fell in love with Houston as a city, and I fell in love with the school. The school allowed me to work on my craft with one of the greatest conducting professors in the world at the time, Larry Rachleff, who has recently passed away, who I miss very much.” His time at Rice left him with an abiding love for both barbecue and HGO, with fond memories of coming to the Wortham to see operas like Rigoletto.
After launching his career, Gaffigan made his American operatic debut at HGO. The year was 2011, and the company invited him to Houston to conduct The Marriage of Figaro. “Patrick Summers, the music director, took a risk on me as a young man, and that’s not always so common in this industry,” he says today. “The whole company took a risk on me. It was my professional debut as an opera conductor in America.” He’s long admired what Summers has created at HGO, he adds. “I have some very big shoes to fill.”
He returned to conduct HGO’s 2025 Concert of Arias. It was the first time the HGO Orchestra accompanied the young singers performing in the competition, and Gaffigan found he loved what a great time the musicians had at the event, as well as their generosity with the young singers. “That’s what music is about,” he says. “That was very important for me, the journey that we had that week.” He came back again to lead this fall’s Porgy and Bess. “It became very clear to me when I saw what Khori Dastoor was doing with this company—in my opinion, this is the most exciting opera company in the country right now.”
He has three children: Sofia, Liam, and Luca. He cannot wait to introduce them to Houston, and to enjoy family gatherings at his new home with his wife, Marta. “I’m extremely lucky now to have these extraordinary children and an incredible partner,” he says. “I see Houston as a perfect place for them to be visiting often and getting to know as their second home, which is very exciting for me.”
He loves Houston for the food, the art and culture, and the people. Gaffigan is a fan of a good smoky brisket from Goode Company, Truth BBQ, and the Pit Room, as well as the city’s incredible Asian cuisine. He’s looking forward to exploring our museums, especially the Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel, which he fell in love with as a student. But most of all, he feels an affinity for Houstonians themselves, who, he says, “have been wonderful and extremely supportive.” (As for the Astros—the New Yorker says he’s looking forward to getting to know them.)
He’s chosen his first job in the United States with great care. “I was very cautious with choosing the first American company for me,” he says. “There have been many scenarios talked about. There have been many great orchestras who were looking for music directors. But I can say with full assurance, this is the first one that was just screaming at me to join. And many conversations with Khori Dastoor helped me understand what was really going on here… This company is a true American story, and I want to be a part of it.”
He has a great story about the other James Gaffigan, the comedian. It involves the day they both bought titanium laptops at the Apple Store, the other Gaffigan accusing him of identity theft, and the two eventually becoming friends. Ask him to tell you about it when you meet him at the Wortham!