Collage of instruments from the 2022 competition finalists.

2022 Competition

2022 Competition

Musical inventors from around the world have submitted their instruments to the 2022 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. After an online showcase of 26 semifinalists, a committee of Georgia Tech faculty and public voting decided which nine finalists and creators would compete at the final stage.

These finalists competed for $10,000 in prizes and performed in the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition Concert on March 12, 2022. Judges Gerhard Behles, Paola Antonelli, and Rick Beato deliberated the winners.

The Winners

Daniel Vaczi performs on the Glissotar at the 2022 Guthman Concert.

First Place

Glissotar

Xiao Xiao performs on the T-Voks at the 2022 Guthman Concert.

Second Place

T-Voks

Giacomo Lepri performs on the Chowndolo at the 2022 Guthman Concert.

Third Place

Chowndolo

Spencer Topel and Sam Cape perform on the Cicada at the 2022 Guthman Concert.

Judge's Special Award

Cicada

Daniel Vaczi performs on the Glissotar at the 2022 Guthman Concert.

People's Choice

Glissotar

Watch the Winning Performance

Dániel Váczi performs on his musical instrument invention, the Glissotar with Ted Gurch, the Associate Principal/E-flat Clarinetist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As the two duet on Glissotars, notice how the magnetic strip mimics a stringed instrument, while still functioning as a woodwind instrument.

Hypercubes on white surface

Finalists and Semifinalists

Learn more about this year's nine finalists and 26 semifinalists. Each creator and instrument has a compelling story that brings musical and design excellence to a stage primed for discovery.

Rick Beato, Gerhard Behles, and Paola Antonelli sit on the Rapunzel Bench in the West Architecture building.

2022 Judges

Our 2022 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition judges are: Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator at The Museum of Modern Art in the Department of Architecture & Design, as well as MoMA’s founding Director of Research & Development; Rick Beato, American YouTube personality, music professional, and educator; and Gerhard Behles, CEO, co-founder, and chief visionary of Ableton.

Milk + Sizz.

Accompanying Musicians

The Guthman Musical Instrument Competiton finalists performed on their instruments alongside talented Atlanta musicians at the March 12, 2022 Guthman Concert. These accompanying musicians include professional musicians and a mix of Georgia Tech students, faculty, and alumni.

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.

Questions?

 
If you can't find the information you were looking for, we'll get you to the right place.
Contact Us