Fron Reilly is a maker, designer, builder, and inventor living in Guelph. He holds a BSc in physics, and in his woodworking shop he brings to fruition the products of his creative imagination. Lately he has been inventing musical instruments, and his latest, the fron2, has been attracting a great deal of notice, mostly through a YouTube video with 1.9 million views. It has also been featured on CBC radio and the CTV Kitchener evening news.
The fron2 is a whirling ten-string bowed zither with a drum head resonator, and the sound it makes is truly unique and new. It has been described as mesmerizing, ethereal, and angelic.
In addition, he has built several very large drone bass hurdy-gurdies. He also put a hurdy-gurdy wheel on a ukulele and called it a “ukuwheele”. Each has sound that has never been heard before.