Today at the 2012 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, Georgia Tech School of Music Chair Frank Clark announced eight inventors who were selected to perform in the final round tonight at 7:00 pm.

Finalists include:

• John Buschert and John Miller (USA) for Musician Maker, a set of instruments connected to computerized chord progressions to tailor note choices to fit the progression, making the instruments more accessible to untrained musicians;
• Nicolas d'Alessandro and Aura Pon (Belgium/Canada) for ChoirMob, a networked mobile platform which allows one to compose a score for voice beforehand, and then revisit the work via mobile phones in a choir ensemble setting to add individual musical nuances;
• Richard Logan-Greene & Matiah Shaman (USA) for Brainstem Cello, a traditional cello augmented with servo mechanisms, a microcontroller and other mechanisms to guide and respond to the performer’s improvisation;
• Martin Rille (Austria) for Coded Sensation, which incorporates on-body textiles in a sculptural and performative musical instrument;
• Bojan Gagic (Croatia) for LIGHTUNE.G (light+melody+tone G/50Hz), which converts light from luminous objects into tone images via the photovoltaic effects of solar panels;
• Scott Barton, Steven Kemper, and Troy Rogers (USA) for MARIE  (Monochord-Aerophone Robotic Instrument Ensemble), a robotic musical instrument system incorporating digital, analog and electromechanically activated acoustic elements;
• Marco Donnarumma (UK) for Xth Sense, a biophysical, wearable technology that reacts to the vibrations of muscle tissue; and
• James Connolly & Kyle Evans (USA) for Cracked Ray Tube, a synchronized audio/video experience generated by the interconnections and feedback between analog televisions and CRT computer monitors.

Final performances will be webcast live at www.gtcmt.gatech.edu/guthman2012. No log-on is required, and the site will feature live chat and segments from preliminary performances.

In total, $10,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the most exciting novel musical instruments and presented by Tech alumnus Richard Guthman in honor of his musician wife, Margaret.