2025 Conductors

Ken Selden

Director of Orchestral Studies

Portland State University

Ken Selden is Director of Orchestral Studies at Portland State University, a position he has held since 2006. In recent years, he has appeared as guest conductor of the Eugene, Newport, Oregon, and Vancouver Symphonies, as well as the Portland Chamber Orchestra, Salem Chamber Orchestra, Third Angle, Fear No Music, and Portland Youth Philharmonic. Following two Mahler recordings for MSR Classics, his recent Piazzolla album was  released on the Naxos label in 2024. Selden made his professional debut with the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada at the invitation of Pinchas Zuckerman. He subsequently appeared with orchestras of Baltimore, Denver, Minnesota, and North Carolina, and at music festivals in the United States, Romania, and Switzerland. He has also conducted the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at the David Oistrakh Festival in Estonia and orchestras in Belgium, Finland, and Italy. Selden is a graduate of New England Conservatory, Indiana University, and Peabody Conservatory. He attended the National Conducting Institute at the Kennedy Center, where he studied with Leonard Slatkin and conducted the National Symphony.