Gavin Ownbey from Collins Hill High School took first place in Georgia Tech’s “Manufacture Your Music” competition, beating more than 100 applicants with his coded musical creation.
The contest, hosted through Georgia Tech’s EarSketch educational platform, challenged students to use computer programming to create original music remixes.
“While creating this project, I learned how to write a program in the context of manufacturing music,” Ownbey said. “This song is a reflection of my experiences and the outlook of my life. Expressing this has helped me understand how to make the most out of my life.”
Ownbey designed his winning entry to convey emotion through sound. “I wanted to express how stress builds over time with this song. At first, the song has a floaty and mysterious feel, but towards the middle of the song, the bass is used to build suspense,” he explained.
As the first-place winner, Ownbey received a $500 Amazon gift card. All finalists and honorable mention recipients were invited to visit the Guthman Music, Art, and Technology Fair at Georgia Tech with their families.
The EarSketch platform teaches students to create music through coding language technology.
You can listen to Ownbey’s creation here.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
