A music technology student performs on stage at the Guthman Concert.

2023 Competition

2023 Competition

Musical inventors from around the world were invited to submit their instruments to the 2023 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. Every year, we invite musical inventors to share innovative musical instruments at the intersection of musicality, design, and engineering. The Guardian called the competition "The Pulitzer of the New Instrument World."

This year, we celebrated the 25th edition of the competition with nine finalists from around the world showcasing the best in musical innovation.

The Winners

Keith Baxter playing the Zen Flute

First Place:
Zen Flute

Keith Baxter
United States

Elias Jarzombek playing the Abacusynth

Second Place:
Abacusynth

Elias Jarzombek
United States

Performer playing the HiTAR at concert

Third Place:
Hitar

Martelloni, McPherson, Barthet
United Kingdom

Abacusynth wins the People's Choice award

People's Choice:
Abacusynth

People's Choice:
Abacusynth

2023 Finalists

Meet the nine Guthman Musical Instrument Competition finalists. Each finalist and their instrument has a compelling story — these are the world's next generation of musical instruments.

2023 Judges

Athan Billias headshot

Athan Billias

President, MIDI Association

Headshot Craig King

Craig King

Chairman & Co-Founder, Rap Plug Academy & Rap Plug Live

Morwaread Farbood headshot

Morwaread Farbood

Associate Director of Music Technology, NYU

A man playing a custom made instrument sitting on stage.

Previous Guthman Competition Winners

The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition boasts a legacy of identifying great new ideas in instrument creation. Instruments like the Infinitone showed us that it's possible for a musician to use as many tones as an artist uses hues of color, while The Glide demonstrated that music can be accessible and easy for anyone to create, regardless of ability or skill level.

Regardless of what niche a created instrument fills, it has a place waiting for it at the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition.

A robotic hand playing music on a keyboard.

Georgia Tech School of Music

Our music technology students combine technical skill with exceptional music talent to truly change the way the world experiences music. They use what they learn to go on to careers in a variety of fields, including software development, hardware engineering, acoustics, robotics, automotive audio, and artificial intelligence.

For the student with a passion both for making music and developing cutting edge technology, a degree in music technology fulfills a unique space in both artistic expression and technical achievement.

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