When Eric F. Keebler, AS '99, decided to design an electric violin, he picked up a pencil and held fast to an idea.

"I wanted to keep everything that made a violin a violin," he says, "and get rid of everything that wasn't essential."

The result: Stunningly beautiful instruments that look and sound like no others, propelling this UD graduate into an unexpected career. Keebler, who earned undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and musical composition, is the owner and craftsman-in-chief of E.F. Keebler Musical Instruments, selling custom-made violins and violas to musicians all over the world.

The 25-year-old Bear, Del., resident grew up in Willow Grove, Pa., where his parents still live. His father is a recruiter for high-tech businesses, and his mother teaches English.

"My father does a lot of tinkering," says Keebler, who has happy memories of helping his dad work on various projects, "like fixing a toaster by taking the whole thing apart and figuring out how it works."

Both his parents enjoy music, including classical music, and his mother sings in a church choir. At 11, Keebler began studying the pipe organ. He would later begin to build one, and it remains a work-in-progress at his parents' home.

"It's about halfway there," he says.

While in high school at the Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, Keebler became involved in a rock band (now known as The Me Generation), playing keyboards, bass and saxophone. "I was also the guy in the band who could do all the wiring," he says. Eventually, he got a synthesizer and a computer and began to explore electronic music.

Keebler chose Delaware for his undergraduate studies, in part because of the chemistry department's reputation. His plan was to go to medical school.

But, a chance encounter during his first day on campus set his future in motion.

The door to Keebler's room in Honors housing was open, and violinist and fellow student Kaia Wong, AS '99, noticed his array of musical equipment. They struck up a conversation, which sparked a friendship and a professional collaboration that continues to this day. Eventually, the two decided to make electric violins.

Electric violins have been used in bluegrass, country and rock music for decades. But, there's a difference between modifying an acoustic violin to electronically amplify its sound and building an electric instrument from scratch. Keebler's instruments, which can be seen at [www.efkeebler.com] take that difference to another level altogether.

Keebler and Wong began the painstaking trial-and-error process of combining raw materials such as PVC pipe and maple wood, as well as commercially available strings and tuners, into something new. But, they were careful to make sure the dimensions and positions of essential components matched those of conventional violins--what Keebler calls "all the tactile clues a player requires," such as the angle of the neck and fingerboard.

A violinist who asks, "What is it?" when first encountering one of Keebler's violins quickly finds the answer.

"When it hits their shoulder," he says, "they start playing and they realize it is, indeed, a violin."

Keebler and Wong collaborated on the first two instruments. After that, "not a lot happened for a while," Keebler recalls. "In 1999, I was pretty much burned out from doing two degrees in four years."

But, musicians who had seen the violins suggested there was a market for them. So, Keebler made another one "and stuck it up on eBay." The first sale came quickly, more followed and in January 2001, Keebler established his company. Since then, he's made and sold nearly 60 instruments.

Austere, elegant and dramatic, Keebler's violins "are different from anything else that's out there," he says. "My prime selling point really is appearance."

The instruments have become sleeker, and technical innovations--such as a reversal of the normal position of the tuners--have been phased in. "You figure out better ways to do things, and some things are consumer-driven," Keebler says. "The design has evolved continuously."

As his reputation spreads, he gets more orders from professional musicians, including experimental types who request unusual string arrangements and other customized features.

"There are so many different genres of music in which violins are used," he notes. "There are so many different markets, and so many different ideas of what good tone is."

Keebler loves building violins. But, he hasn't abandoned the goal of medical school.

"Right now," he says, "the business is still going places. I'll take it where it goes."

--Kevin Riordan