Honored with the Salvatore Martirano Composition Award, Ettelson Composer’s Award, Chamber Music of California’s California Prize, and Nicola de Lorenzo Prize in Composition (three times), Selim Göncü aims to create a personal balance of contrasting polarities in his music. Raw gestures are contrasted with transparent textures, elegant timbres are interrupted/combined with abrupt impulses, obsessively-mechanical loops are interpolated with freely flowing improvisations.

His works have been performed by acclaimed ensembles including Ensemble Intercontemporain, L’Instant Donné, Ensemble Proton Bern, Ensemble Échappé, Quatour Tana, Stadler Quartett, East Coast Chamber Ensemble and Alarm Will Sound in festivals such as ManiFeste, Festival Musica, Firenze Suona Contemporanea, Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik and Missouri International Composers Festival.

Selim graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz with the highest distinction and currently continues his doctoral studies in composition at University of California, Berkeley. His primary teachers are Franck Bedrossian, Clemens Gadenstätter and Edmund Campion.

He currently is Composer-in-Residence of New York based new music sinfonietta Ensemble Échappé and is contributing director of sfSound.