MIDI Innovation Awards Jury Announced

The Music Hackspace, the MIDI Association, and NAMM have announced the jury for the 2023 MIDI Innovation Awards. Winners will be decided by a six-person team who bring an unparalleled wealth of experience and expertise to their judgements. • Composer, performer, producer and million-selling artist Jean-Michel Jarre is one of the foremost pioneers of electronic music. Last year saw the release of his stunning immersive album Oxymore.

• Inventor Roger Linn has an unrivalled pedigree as designer of groundbreaking instruments including the LinnDrum, the Akai MPC60 and the LinnStrument. • Michele Darling is a sound designer, composer and educator who is assistant chair of the Electronic Production and Design Department at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. • Woodwind virtuoso Pedro Eustache is both a guardian of multiple musical traditions and a lifelong explorer of new technologies.

• Composer and sound designer Nina Richards is also a developer of synth hardware including the innovative Stepper Acid digitally controlled step sequencer.•Musical director, composer and musician Bian Liunian plays more than 200 instruments, specialising in the two-string Chinese violin known as the erhu. He was responsible for the musical production at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.The world’s leading music technology magazine Sound On Sound joins the Awards this year as media partner, supporting and covering the competition. NAMM, Music China and SynthFest UK are among the prize partners who will showcase the winner’s products.

The competition welcomes entries from a wide range of applications, including but not limited to MIDI instruments, controllers, software, art installations, MIDI peripherals, I/O boxes, lighting systems, automated systems, and more, in the following 5 categories:Commercial Hardware ProductsCommercial Software ProductsPrototypes and non-commercial hardware productsPrototypes and non-commercial software productsArtistic/Visual Project or InstallationThe key dates for the MIDI Innovation Awards 2023 are: May 23rd: Registrations closeMay 30th: Voting startsJuly 21st: Voting closes, jury deliberation startsAugust 16th: Finalists announcedSeptember 16th: Live show online – winners revealedEntering the competition is free, and the registration is open until April 26th. Innovators are invited to submit their entry, visit the website: https://www.midi.org/awards-submit. For more information about the MIDI Innovation Awards, please visit the website https://midi.org/innovation-awards or contact Jean-Baptiste Thiebaut at jb[at]musichackspace.org.

About The MIDI Innovation AwardsThe MIDI Innovation Awards is a joint initiative created by Music Hackspace, The MIDI Association, and NAMM. The competition seeks to showcase products and projects using MIDI 1.0 and 2.0 in fresh and original ways, celebrating the role that MIDI technology has to play in enabling musical creativity. Now in its third year, the MIDI Innovation Awards is proud to welcome new partners, including Sound On Sound, SynthFest UK and Music China, to offer musicians and inventors a unique opportunity to present their ideas on a global stage.

About The MIDI Association The MIDI Association is the non-profit community for both the companies who develop new MIDI specifications and products, and the people that create music and art with MIDI. The MIDI.org website is the central repository of information about anything related to MIDI technology, from classic legacy gear to the next- gen MIDI protocols coming soon. Join the MIDI Association for free at www.midi.org.

About Music Hackspace The Music Hackspace is an online learning resource for artists, producers, and live show artists to learn music and creative technologies. Music Hackspace creates new courses every week on using new technologies for sound design, music production, live visuals, or creative and game coding, and offer 1-on-1 mentoring sessions with experts worldwide.

About NAMMThe National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $17 billion music products industry. NAMM is comprised of 15,000 global member companies and individual professionals. NAMM events and members fund The NAMM Foundation's efforts to promote the pleasures and benefits of music and advance active participation in music-making across the lifespan. For more information about NAMM, please visit www.namm.org.