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Selim Giray

Associate Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Studies

Selim Giray

Director of Orchestral Studies

Biography

Dr. Selim Giray serves as Director of Orchestral Studies, Professor of Music, and the Head of Strings at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Giray conducts the University Symphony, teaches courses in graduate and undergraduate conducting, and string pedagogy. He serves as Chair of American String Teachers Association’s National Orchestra Festival. In 2026, Dr. Giray conducted the Georgia 11th & 12th Grade High School All-State String Orchestra, and in 2024, California High School All-State String Orchestra. He is invited to conduct Florida All-State High School (11–12) Honors Orchestra in 2028. Periodically, since 2023 Selim Giray has performed as cover conductor for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Previously, Giray served as Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor at the Ohio Light Opera. Giray is the co-author of Fundamentals of Instrumental and Choral Conducting (2025), and author of String Methods for Beginners (2020). Giray served on ASTA National Board as Member-at-Large (2020–2023). He is featured on numerous CDs and on Naxos Online Library. Giray studied the violin with Eliot Chapo, former Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, Fritz Gearhart; and conducting with Dr. William Intriligator, and Roman Skřepek.  

Publications

Providing a thorough introduction to both choral and instrumental conducting, this textbook offers a complete package of teaching, study, and assessment materials to support a single-semester foundational conducting course.

The book is designed to address the needs of students and instructors in mixed-discipline classrooms, giving equal weight to the conducting skills and repertoire of instrumental and choral ensembles. The 22 chapters are intended to fit comfortably into a single-semester course with two weekly classes. The authors cover key topics including conducting body alignment, breathing, the conducting box, baton use, cutoffs, left-hand use, conducting patterns, conducting styles, conducting subdivisions, accents, syncopation, score preparation and score reading, transpositions and clef reading, ensemble familiarity, error detection, rehearsal planning, and rehearsal techniques.

This textbook and its accompanying supplemental materials are uniquely designed for the instructor to achieve an efficient and readily organized class, and for the students to receive essential fundamental conducting skills on both instrumental—including orchestral and band instruments—and choral ensembles. Addressing the conductor’s role, basic conducting skills, makeup of instrumental and choral ensembles, and solutions to common issues, the text prepares all students to engage in higher-level conducting courses.

String Methods for Beginners

String Methods for Beginners is designed for students to receive the essential playing and teaching skills on all orchestral string instruments. The goal of this textbook is to be truly methodical in its approach, and to assist the instructor, completely eliminating the need to do additional research, or reorganization in preparation to teach this class. Students will gain the basic knowledge and experience to teach bowed stringed instruments in public schools. String Methods for Beginners covers the necessary topics to learn and teach the violin, viola, cello, and string bass. It explores the fundamentals of those instruments and teaching considerations, utilizing a heterogeneous approach.

As the primary resource to any college- and university-level String Techniques, String Methods, or Instrumental Methods class, this course book fits into a standard semester, comprised of 25 lessons, which correspond with two hourly classes per week for the term. It provides the instructor with the tools to teach a classroom of non-majors or string education majors, or a mixed classroom of both.

Courses Taught

Education

MM Music, East Carolina University (1994)

DM Music, Florida State University (2001)