James Gaffigan joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2006 as Associate Conductor, coming to the SFS after three seasons as the Cleveland Orchestra’s Assistant Conductor. Born in 1979 in New York City, he received his undergraduate degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory and holds a master’s degree (in conducting) from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston. He has led performances at the Zurich Opera and has conducted that city’s Tonhalle Orchestra and Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester. In the US, he has led such ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. He is also Music Director of CityMusic, a chamber orchestra in Cleveland that presents free concerts throughout the city.