
The Margaret Guthman New Instrument Competition was recently held at the Georgia Tech School of Music. 14 finalists were invited to present their creations and perform live. The judging panel included Roger Linn, Pamela Z and Ge Wang.
The Margaret Guthman New Instrument Competition represents the cutting edge of new musical instrument development. The top three prizewinners have just been announced.
First place went to Keith Groover’s The Glide. It’s principal component is an accelerometer, with two controllers that measure acceleration in X, Y and Z axes.
The GeoShred, from developers Wizdom Music, came in second place. GeoShred is an iOS app that combines multi-touch control with physical modelling synthesis. It also features alternate tunings and scales, a looper and more.
Third place was a tie – Spinstruments from Enrico Vinholi and Ben Cooper shared the spot with Sydney’s own Alon Ilsar, with his Air Sticks instrument.
Spinstruments blend dance and music and are programmed to play different types of sound dependent on various spinning movements.
Ilsar’s Air Sticks combine percussive movements with innovative software, transforming the 3D space around the performer into a playable instrument.
Find out more about the competition here.