Georgia Tech's second annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition will conclude with an open house and performance event on Saturday, February 27, 2010 on campus. The competition, supported by the philanthropic family of alumnus Richard Guthman, showcases new uses of technology to enhance participation in music performance and music creation.

An expert panel of judges will review entries based on musicality, design and engineering, for prizes of $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third place.

Judges Include:

• Gil Weinberg, Director, Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology
• Eliot Van Buskirk, Music Reporter for Wired.com
• Johannes Goebel, Founding Director of Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Tod Machover, Professor and Director of Hyperinstruments/Opera of the Future Group at MIT Media Lab

Doors open at 11 a.m. for an open house showcase of unique music-making experiences from faculty and students in the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology. Winners will be announced at 1 p.m., and a concert featuring the best of the best new musical instruments will follow.

Last year, 30 inventors from seven countries performed on Georgia Tech's campus. "We were blown away by the diversity and quality of the competitors - it was great to see ideas from both commercial firms and academicians and just creative young musicians,"said Tech music director Frank Clark. "Thanks to the Guthmans, we think the Musical Instrument Competition will expose new paradigms of expression year after year."

See highlights from the 2009 competition at Wired.com.

For more information, contact Leslie Bennett at 404-385-7642 or leslie.bennett@music.gatech.edu.