Music’s next big instruments unveiled at Atlanta competition

ATLANTA - You know what a piano looks and sounds like. The same goes for guitar, violin, and trumpet.

But what about the Chromaplane? Or the Petika?

If you’re lucky enough to snag a seat at a one-of-a-kind concert in Atlanta this Saturday night, you’ll hear both of those cutting-edge musical instruments and several others, too.

The 2025 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition Concert is happening on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts, featuring the 10 finalists in this year’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. The premise of the competition is simple: come up with music’s next great instrument. Of course, the results are anything but simple, as innovators from around the world meld science and art into truly groundbreaking inventions with the potential to change the course of popular music.

The competition’s finalists have all traveled to the Georgia Tech campus, where they’ll present their work to a panel of judges and perform at Saturday night’s concert. And the stakes are high; the finalists — who represent seven countries including France, Sweden, and Singapore — are competing for $10,000 in prizes. Along with being a marquee event for The School of Music at Georgia Tech, this year’s concert is also on the schedule for this year’s Atlanta Science Festival, which officially launches Saturday and runs through March 22.

Tickets for the 2025 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition Concert are $15 and available for purchase here; Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts is located at 349 Ferst Drive Northwest.