Jason Freeman

The second annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition presented by the Georgia Tech center for Music Technology will award $10,000 to the best novel musical instruments as judged by a panel of experts. There will be a $5,000 grand prize -- all participants eligible -- given by Sharon Perry Galloway in honor of her husband, Dr. Thomas D. Galloway, Dean of the College of Architecture, 1992-2007.

Submissions will be accepted until November 15 and can be made through our online subsmission system.

For more information and to submit your entry, please visit:

Any new musical instrument is eligible for the competition. Instruments may generate sound acoustically or electronically, they may exist in physical or virtual manifestations, and they may be played by humans, robots, or computers. They may modify, improve, or extend existing instruments -- including the human voice -- or they may offer entirely new design paradigms.

New instruments which cross over these categories or which defy any such categorization are also welcome.

Prior to the performance (described below) contestants will be asked to briefly describe and demonstrate their instrument and its key qualities (1-2 minutes).

Entrants must perform a musical work with their new instrument to demonstrate its musicality, design, and engineering features. Performances may include traditional acoustic and/or electronic instruments alongside the new instrument. They may also include multimedia elements such as video, animation, graphics, text, kinesthetics, hydraulics, dance, or acting. The performed work may be composed by anyone, including the entrant, or it may be an arrangement of an existing work. It may be in any musical style. The duration should be 2-4 minutes. Entrants must be prepared to perform with their instrument at Georgia Tech on February 27th-28th, 2009. In most cases, performances will be public and open to all Guthman competition attendees. Following the performance there may be a brief question and answer session with the judges.

A panel of three judges will evaluate each instrument with respect to its musicality, design, and engineering. Judges will give each category equal weight in their decisions. They may consider a variety of factors in making their decisions, such as range of musical expression, playing technique, usability, and physical construction. Innovation is a central theme of the competition. Judges will look for instruments that are novel or extend previous work in meaningful ways. It is important to note that judges will use the performance to better evaluate the musical instrument. In the end, the competition is not primarily about the virtuosity of the performer. However, the more that the performance demonstrates and highlights the unique features of the instrument the more persuasive it is likely to be.

Any new musical instrument is eligible for the competition. Instruments may generate sound acoustically or electronically, they may exist in physical or virtual manifestations, and they may be played by humans, robots, or computers. They may modify, improve, or extend existing instruments -- including the human voice -- or they may offer entirely new design paradigms.
New instruments which cross over these categories or which defy any such categorization are also welcome.

Dates
Submissions due: November 15, 2009
Admission notification: December 1, 2009

Questions?
Contact Leslie Bennett
leslie.bennett AT music.gatech.edu


[ot] Guthman Musical Instrument Competition