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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Summary Sentence: Georgia Tech's 2016 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition is an annual event aimed at identifying the world's next generation of musical instruments and unveiling the best new ideas in musicality, design, and engineering.
Full Summary: Wired magazine called the competition an "X-Prize for music," and contestants liken it to a TED Conference for new musical instrument designers. Some of our previous finalists include the OP-1, Roli Seaboard, Guitarbot and many other groundbreaking musical instruments which have since become successful commercially and artistically. Previous judges include artists such as Laurie Anderson, Richard Devine, and Young Guru, academic leaders such as David Wessel and Tod Machover, and Music Technology industry leaders such as David Zicarelli, Eran Egozi and Tom Oberheim. The competition has received wide publicity from media outlets such as The New York Times, Fast Company, The TODAY Show among others.
2016 Guthman PosterWhat if you could strum a guitar, tap a piano, bow a violin and loop a beat all on just one instrument? If you’re in the mood for a hypnotic surround sound, try playing the Yaybahar with its fretted strings, coiled springs and drum skins. Maybe you’re searching for a different type of harp. How about one made from a two-dimensional grid of laser beams. What about a 25-string harp that uses electromagnetic actuation modules to produce completely acoustic music.
These are just a few of the 22 inventions in the annual Margaret Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. The competition, hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology, showcases the best new ideas in design, engineering and musicianship. Contestants compete for $10,000 in prizes. Our semi finalistic are all inventors, musicians, designers, engineers, who bring their interdisciplinary skills and talents and the next generation of musical instruments. said Gil Weinberg, director of the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology. The Center, along with the School of Music, the College of Architecture and the Office of the Arts sponsor the competition, which is in its eighth year. Competition entrants are using technology and scientific discovery to create nontraditional sounds and musical interactions that can enhance the way society plays and thinks about musical instruments. Some of the semi-finalists resemble sleek, modern sculptures that belong in museums. Others look like they assembled in the land of misfit toys. Judging the semi-finalists are: Alan Kozinn, a music critic and teacher; Pat Metheny, a Grammy award-winning jazz guitarist and composer; and Marcelo Wanderly, professor of music technology at McGill University in Montreal.
The Guthman Competition will be held March 2 and 3 at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center for the Arts. The finals, which will be held at 7:00 pm on March 3, are free and open to the public. John Biggs, an editor with TechCrunch, will host the finale.
More information about the contest and live streaming can be found at http://guthman.gatech.edu.
