The Double Slide Controller--an electronic trombone-like instrument featuring two independent slides and two versatile hand controllers--captured first prize at Georgia Tech’s 2010 Margaret Guthman New Musical Instrument Competition.

Developed by composer and researcher Tomás Henriques, the instrument mixes computer music software, sensor technologies and flexible hand/arm gestures to generate rich, complex sounds.

The K-Bow, a wireless sensor-equipped bow by Keith McMillen received second prize. Sharing third prize were The Loud Objects, a New York trio who delivered a surprising performance with live circuit constructions on an overhead projector; and The CrudBox by fellow New Yorker Steven Litt, a robotic amplified step sequencer that created sophisticated rhythmic textures.

“The quality of submissions this year was extraordinary, and as judges it was very challenging to choose the prize winners,” said Gil Weinberg, Director of the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology. “We believe that our top picks can help redefine what musical instruments can be and do in the future.”

Weinberg served on the jury with three other leading experts in experimental music: composer Tod Machover from MIT Media Lab; Johannes Goebel from the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center; and Tom Sherwood, principal percussionist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Together, they chose from 26 entries, from six countries, that presented the best integration of musicality, design and engineering.

The annual competition is supported by the philanthropy of alumnus Richard Guthman in honor of his musical wife, Margaret. “This event underscores our role as a center of innovation in music,” said Frank Clark, Chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Music. “Thanks to the Guthmans, this competition will expose new paradigms of expression year after year.”

"It was very interesting to meet all the participants and see the wealth of new ideas for new instruments that aim at breaking new frontiers in the performance of electronic music,” said Henriques. “Georgia Tech, with the philanthropic aid of the Guthman family, is doing a great job to the development of the field of music technology."

Other instruments among the finalists include:
- The Modified Didgeridoo by Kyle Evans (Chicago, IL)
- The Magnetic Resonator Piano by Andrew McPherson (Princeton, NJ)
- Silent Hands by Jaime Oliver (La Jolla, CA)
- The Kalichord by Daniel Schlessinger (San Francisco, CA)

The Georgia Tech School of Music and the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology combine transdisciplinary research and technology with the art and tradition of music, offering performance and learning opportunities; a leading graduate degree program in music technology; and a collaborative framework for students, faculty and researchers to transform the way we listen to, create and perform music.