Gaffigan succeeds Harding in Verbier
James Gaffigan has been appointed musical director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra (VFJO) at the Verbier Festival. He succeeds Daniel Harding, the orchestra's founder in 2013, who led it until 2016.
James Gaffigan is Principal Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and his contract in Central Switzerland has been extended early until 2021. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, a position that was recently extended for the third time.
Born in New York, Gaffigan won the Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition in 2004. Until 2009, he was Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for three years in a position specially created for him by Michael Tilson Thomas. Prior to that, he was Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra under Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.
The Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra (VFJO) developed in 2013 from the Verbier Festival Music Camp of the Western Switzerland Classical Music Festival. It offers orchestral training for 15 to 18-year-old musicians. The young musicians work for three weeks with talented young tutors from all over the world.
