Acting on an Ottawa musician's dream, Guelph woodworker creates instrument that makes people 'tear up'

For musician Jesse Stewart, the Fron2 is a dream come true.

Stewart, who heads the music program at Carleton University in Ottawa, began dreaming of creating a completely new and unique instrument 30 years ago.

All he needed was someone who could actualize his vision: an experienced woodworker who shared his love of music.

Then, one day, a chance meeting between Stewart and clock maker, woodworker and artist Fron Reilly, who's from Guelph, Ont., led to a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration to create a wooden instrument the world has never seen before: the Fron, named after Reilly.

After some improvement in the design, Reilly also created a second version, called the Fron2.

"He improved on the concept in every conceivable way," Stewart said. "Sometimes people start crying — people tear up because they think it's [the music] so beautiful."

The Fron2 is a cylindrical instrument with a frame drum suspended in the centre of 10 strings. To play it, you have to turn a crank handle to make the instrument spin while using a bow or wand to vibrate its strings. 

Stewart describes the instrument as a cross between a steel pan and an Indonesian gamelan instrument.

The sound is a futuristic, meditative, acoustic symphony that could work well as the soundtrack for a galactic odyssey.

After Reilly made the Fron2, he uploaded a YouTube video of himself playing the instrument that has since racked up about 1.8 million views. Dozens of admirers from around the world have asked Reilly to make them a version of the unique instrument.

"I think Fron has made an original and important contribution to the field of new musical instrument design," Stewart said, adding it's unusual to see innovation in acoustic instruments.

"This was a sound that I had in mind 30 years ago and it continued to resonate for me for all that time. I'm really thankful I found somebody to make that instrument for me."

WATCH | Fron Reilly plays his instrument, the Fron2:

Physics, woodworking and art

Reilly's fascination with physics began when he took apart an alarm clock as a child.

From there, his love for understanding the way things work led him to design and build a series of wooden clocks in 1979. It was the beginning of a long career designing artistic wooden clocks.

Reilly graduated from the University of Waterloo with a bachelor of science in physics. He calls himself a "maker, designer, builder and inventor."

It was his combination of knowledge in physics, woodworking and art that gave him the tools needed to design a new instrument.

"I was born to do it. It's something I just have to do," Reilly said. "I see lots of applications for [the Fron2]. The first is that it's a great film score instrument. I've been approached by filmmakers and I have performed for them some pieces, and they're going into a film."

Reilly said some people have approached him about also using the Fron2 for healing and ambient music.

So far, he has made 11 of the instruments for people around the world, from Africa and the United States to the Stratford Film Festival's Goblin:Oedipus theatre production.

Reilly said he's already thinking of what instrument he would like to create next.

"I have an idea — actually I have several, but... we'll see. I don't know what will really happen next."