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Guthman Musical Instrument Competition Heats Up

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Georgia Tech Arts is partnering with the Georgia Tech School of Music in presenting the 23rd annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. This one-of-kind event is dedicated to identifying the newest and greatest ideas in music. Musical inventors from around the world will share their creations and ideas about the future of music. The competition was founded by Richard Guthman (IE 1956), who wanted to find a way to honor his wife, Margaret, while supporting music at Georgia Tech.

This year, the event has moved online! In the fall of 2020, we issued a call for submissions that brought in hundreds of proposals from around the world; these were culled down to 29 instruments from 15 countries! The public now has access to a gallery where they can vote for the “People’s Choice” winner from among the finalists during the month of November. A panel of four judges will select the ultimate winners, who will be announced in March 2021, with virtual opportunities to learn more about all of the finalists and their instruments. The judges include guitarist Kaki King, who will also live stream the world premiere of her new album and present DATA NOT FOUND with Georgia Tech Arts this season; DJ Spooky, composer, multimedia artist, and writer; Dave Smith, engineer, musician, and founder of Sequential; and Jayson Dobney, Frederick P. Rose Curator in Charge in the Department of Musical Instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The current phase of the Competition includes the following activities.

 

The Path Forward: Creativity in New Instruments

Tuesday, November 17, 2020 | 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST

Join the conversation on Facebook Live!

As the 2021 Competition enters its next phase, we’re bringing together a panel of experts to share their work in musical instrument and interface design and to consider big questions in the field. Grace Leslie (professor in the Georgia Tech School of Music and director of the Brain Music Lab) will moderate the conversation between Peter Kirn (founder and editor of CDM, a 2021 Guthman Competition partner), Roger Linn (musical instrument designer and 2019 Guthman Competition judge), and Raghavasimhan Sankaranarayanan (Georgia Tech music technology PhD candidate). Join us for a thought-provoking and wide-ranging discussion.

 

Be a Judge for the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition

November 2020

Visit the gallery and vote!

For this year's virtual competition, the selection committee chose 29 finalists from 15 different countries. Come meet the finalists in the online video gallery and watch them perform with their instruments. We then encourage you to vote for your favorites - the instrument earning the most votes will receive a prize and a commission!

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Elizabeth Geiger
  • Created:11/16/2020
  • Modified By:Elizabeth Geiger
  • Modified:05/25/2022

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