James conducted the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl on August 22. Here are some snippets from the San Francisco Classical Voice review highlighting James:
Some conductors are uncomfortable with the wide-open spaces of the Hollywood Bowl. Not James Gaffigan. He had a grand time Thursday interacting with his audience, leading them in round of “Happy Birthday” for his daughter, Sofia, and conducting the members of the LA Phil…
Gaffigan offered a leisurely journey through [Appalachian Spring]. It was gentle, panoramic, as nostalgic as postcards from another time…
To end the concert Gaffigan cast away his baton in favor of dance-like hand gestures as he and the orchestra went Uptown for the performance of Ellington’s 1950 symphonic jazz poem, Harlem.”
San Francisco Classical Voice, full review here.
