MUSIC DIRECTOR, CONDUCTOR & CONTRACTOR
ABOUT
JACK
GAUGHAN
Music filled Jack’s life early, starting piano at age 5, and soon after clarinet. He eventually landed on a path to being a musical director and conductor of both Broadway shows and various classical engagements.
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Piano studies took him to Ohio University to work with George Katz and clarinet studies with David Lewis, principal clarinet with the Hong Kong Symphony. Graduate school was spent studying conducting with James Levine and opera performance with Eleanor Steber at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
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Immediately after his academic studies, Jack moved to New York City and immediately found gainful employment as an on-call audition pianist and music director. Jack was soon hired as the season’s musical director at the MUNI Opera in St. Louis, which led to seasons at The Starlight Theater in Kansas City and the Jones Beach Theater on Long Island. He spent several seasons at The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and was Music Director and Conductor for the 50th Anniversary of the Pittsburgh CLO featuring music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim, both of whom were in attendance. That caught the attention of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and it began a decades long collaboration that was formed between Sir Lloyd Webber and Jack.
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Soon thereafter, Jack was hired as the musical director for the original Broadway company of EVITA, where he met famed Broadway conductor Paul Gemignani, who became a life-long mentor and friend, as did prolific Broadway conductor Stanley Lebowski. EVITA led to years of work for Jack at CATS on Broadway where he conducted the show as well as musical supervised all of the U.S. tours of CATS. Next came the original Broadway company of 42nd Street, and then Jack reunited with Sir Lloyd Webber on the original Broadway company of PHANTOM, where he conducted the show in New York City for seven years.
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Jack was involved in the development of a musical and pre-Broadway production of DON’T STOP THE CARNIVAL written by Jimmy Buffett and Herman Wouk as well as a Marilyn Monroe musical biopic conceived by “…Carnival” director David H. Bell. While at PHANTOM Jack was asked to be the vocal coach for Antonio Banderas in preparation for the movie version of EVITA.
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Next was the 1995 revival of CHICAGO in New York City, and while there he was asked to bring a new company of CHICAGO to Las Vegas to open the newly constructed Mandalay Bay Hotel. The Las Vegas production starred Chita Rivera and Ben Vereen, and began what many in the press would point to as Las Vegas becoming
"Broadway West". Jack soon received more offers to conduct Broadway shows in Las Vegas, so in 2000 he decided to permanently move from New York City to Las Vegas.
This move proved to be fortuitous, because in 2002 friend and business colleague Sam Lutfiyya, one of the largest musician contractors in the United state and Canada, asked Jack if he would partner to hire, staff and payroll several new shows coming to Vegas for sit down engagements. Jack’s new musician contracting company, G & G Theater Services, opened in 2002 as a side business to ongoing musical director / conductor jobs. The timing couldn’t have been better, and G & G took off and quickly because the premiere musician contacting and payroll company in Nevada. G & G began by contracting local musicians for touring productions which were engaged at the Aladdin Hotel's Performing Arts Center, including the touring companies of EVITA, WEST SIDE STORY, GUYS AND DOLLS, PETER PAN and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
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Jack with Antonio Banderas working
on the movie version of EVITA.
Jack with Hugh Jackman at the Grand Opening of the Wynn Hotel in 2005.
​​​Jack also was the music contractor for the grand opening of the new Wynn Hotel & Casino and worked with Hugh Jackman on a one night special engagement concert in April 2005. Other contracting productions for G & G soon followed, including the sit-down Las Vegas productions of THE MAIN EVENT (a Frank Sinatra biopic stage show at The Venetian Hotel), MAMMA MIA! at the Mandalay Bay, ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE starring Sally Struthers at The Silverton Hotel, WE WILL ROCK YOU at the Paris Hotel, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT at the Planet Hollywood Hotel, THE PRODUCERS at The Paris Hotel, HAIRSPRAY at The Luxor Hotel, AVENUE Q and SPAMALOT at the Wynn Hotel, THE LION KING at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, JERSEY BOYS at the new Palazzo Hotel and the Paris Hotel, and
Jimmy Buffett and Jack during the
pre-Broadway run of
DON'T STOP THE CARNIVAL
FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME at Venetian Hotel. And in a full circle moment, Jack was asked to be the musical director, conductor and musician contractor for PHANTOM: THE LAS VEGAS SPECTACULAR at the Venetian Hotel, where he was in residence for show's entire six year run.
G & G also became was the resident musician contractor at the Smith Center for The Performing Arts in Las Vegas starting in 2012, a position he still holds today. Touring productions Jack contracted there have included THE COLOR PURPLE, MARY POPPINS, LAS CAGE AUX FOLLES, WICKED, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, BILLY ELLIOT, PORGY AND BESS, THE BOOK OF MORMON, ANYTHING GOES, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLORED DREAMCOAT, THE WIZARD OF OZ, PIPPIN, NEWSIES, CINDERELLA, KINKY BOOTS, ANNIE, A GENTLEMEN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, and JAGGED LITTLE PILL.
Jack was selected to be the orchestra conductor for Nevada Ballet
PHANTOM director Hal Prince with Jack at PHANTOM: THE LAS VEGAS SPECTACULAR.
​Theater’s annual production of THE NUTCRACKER at The Smith Center from 2010 until 2022. And while Jack is first and foremost a conductor, his musician contracting work provided so many musicians with employment in Las Vegas that Jack’s company, G & G Theater Services, was awarded the “Employer Of The Year” by Nevada’s AFL-CIO in 2005. This gave Jack the opportunity to be the musicians contractor for the opening ceremonies of the T-Mobile Arena held in April 2006, with a concert by Las Vegas natives The Killers, Shamir and Wayne Newton.
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Jack’s next venture was when he successfully ran for the office of President of the Musicians Union, A.F.M. Las Vegas Local 369, a position he held for seven years. It was during this time that Jack continued his conducting career and was actively engaged in providing his music direction for many annual pro-bono concerts benefiting several local charities such as FAMILY PROMISE, GOLDEN RAINBOW, and the COMMUNITY LUTHERAN CHURCH charity initiatives.
One of Jack’s favorite experiences of his time in Las Vegas was co-teaching musical theater classes at U.N.L.V. with close friend and collaborator Bob Brewer. Jack and Bob were a dynamic team providing real-life Broadway song interpretation techniques to the University students. During this four year period, Jack also music directed and conducted four main stage musicals for Nevada Conservatory Theater (the U.N.L.V. performance company for theater training).
Jack remains an active musical director and conductor of Broadway shows across the country, and has also branched out to work on films, television shows, and corporate industrial concert events. Jack remains committed to sharing his love of music and theater and enjoys giving guest lectures and tutoring the next generation of Broadway musical talent.
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Jack also has an extensive resume for his work with symphonies, opera companies and many classical music festivals. Contact Jack on the last page of this website to hear more about that side of his career!
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