What To Do When You
When You Get Here
We are thrilled you will be joining us this year as a finalist in the Guthman competition or as an exhibitor at the music, art, and technology fair. Read on for details and logistics for the weekend.
Getting to Guthman
The Guthman Competition takes place at the Georgia Tech campus in midtown Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), one of the largest airports in the world, is just 13 miles from campus, easily reachable by car, taxi/uber/lyft, or MARTA (Atlanta's commuter rail system).
The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition takes place at the Georgia Tech Ferst Center for the Arts.
Address:
349 Ferst Drive NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30313
Directions and parking information for the Ferst Center are available from Georgia Tech Arts.
The Music, Art, and Technology Fair is located at the Exhibition Hall at Georgia Tech, which is a short walk from the Ferst Center.
Address:
460 4th St NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30332
For more information on getting to campus, and suggestions of where to stay, refer to Georgia Tech's visitor's guide.
Georgia Tech has several dining options on campus very close to the Ferst Center, and there are hundreds of restaurants within a short walk of campus.
Schedule of Events
We expect all finalists in the competition to attend all events. (Schedule subject to change.)
Thursday, March 7th, 2024
Setup at Ferst
4:00 pm: Group 1 – Babel Table, BCI, BodyMouth
4:30 pm: Group 2 – Circle Guitar, Lorentz Violin, Sonograf
5:00 pm: Group 3 – Thales, VocalCords, XEKI, Yuan
*You must be completely set up and sound checked by 10 pm*
Friday, March 8th, 2024
8:00 am - 9:30 am: Load in and final sound checks at Ferst
9:00 am: Breakfast backstage
9:45 am: Official welcome
10:00 am - 11:10 am: Finalist Presentations Part 1
10:00 – 10:10: Babel Table
10:15 – 10:25: Lorentz Violin
10:30 – 10:40: Thales
10:45 – 10:55: XEKI
11:00 – 11:10: Yuan
11:10 am - 11:30 am: First Break
11:30 am - 12:30 pm: Finalist Demos Part 1 on Ferst stage
Finalist | Babel Table | Lorentz Violin | Thales | XEKI | Yuan |
11:30 | Bosko | – | Andrew | – | Kelly |
11:40 | – | Bosko | – | Andrew | – |
11:50 | Kelly | – | Bosko | – | Andrew |
12:00 | – | Kelly | – | Bosko | – |
12:10 | Andrew | – | Kelly | – | Bosko |
12:20 | – | Andrew | – | Kelly | – |
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Lunch in the Ferst lobby
1:30 pm - 2:40 pm: Finalist Presentations Part 2
1:30 – 1:40: BCI
1:45 – 1:55: Circle Guitar
2:00 – 2:10: VocalCords
2:15 – 2:25: Sonograf
2:30 – 2:40: BodyMouth
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm: Second Break
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Finalist Demos Part 2
Finalist | BCI | Circle Guitar | VocalCords | Sonograf | BodyMouth |
3:00 | Bosko | – | Andrew | – | Kelly |
3:10 | – | Bosko | – | Andrew | – |
3:20 | Kelly | – | Bosko | – | Andrew |
3:30 | – | Kelly | – | Bosko | – |
3:40 | Andrew | – | Kelly | – | Bosko |
3:50 | – | Andrew | – | Kelly | – |
4:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Final Break
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm: Panel with the judges in the Ferst lobby
*There are no events planned for Friday evening. Dinner is on your own*
Saturday, March 9th, 2024
9:00 am - 10:00 am: Tech checks at Ferst (optional for finalists)
10:00 am - 1:00 pm: Local musicians and finalists meet at Ferst
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch Break in Ferst lobby
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Collaboration session for developing performance at Ferst
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Dress Rehearsal at Ferst
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Break and Dinner backstage (lobby opens at 6:00 pm)
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: Guthman Concert
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Breakdown and clean up
Finalist Presentations & Demos
On Friday, March 8th, all finalists will present their instrument to the panel of judges and an audience that includes the other finalists, Georgia Tech students and faculty, and visitors. Presentations will be 10 minutes each. While you may structure your presentation however you wish, we recommend that you share information about the musical, technical, and design elements of your instrument and perform with your instrument.
During the demo portion, you will also have a 10 minute, one-on-one conversation with each of our three judges, where you can show them your instrument up close, give them a chance to try it out (if you wish), and answer their questions. Your presentation and conversations with the judges are the sole basis for the judges’ decisions regarding competition winners (though winners will not be announced until the end of the March 9th concert). In the times that you aren’t talking to judges, you may have one-on-one conversations with the students, faculty, and other audience members who approach your table.
Concert Performances
On Saturday, March 9th, you will meet with a musician from Georgia Tech or the broader Atlanta community that we have matched with you back in January over email. We hope that these encounters will help spark new ideas and perhaps even new collaborations. We will also task you and the musician with presenting your instrument – together – in a brief (3-5 minute) performance at the Guthman concert.
At the concert, which takes place at 7 pm on March 9th, you will perform for a large audience (in 2023, over 700 people attended), we will celebrate the work of our finalists, and we will announce the competition winners ($5000 first prize, $3000 second prize, $2000 third prize, and a $1000 audience choice award). The concert will also be livestreamed at Georgia Tech School of Music YouTube channel, and the recording will remain available after the event.