About the Halo

Thank you very much for your interest in the Halo, the first handpan made in the United States.

We are proud to say that Halos are being made, and being played around the world, as you read this.

The Halo is Pantheon Steel's addition to a new twenty-first century family of instruments and sound sculpture descended from the steel pan. It is a resonant steel instrument played by hand in the lap; it is designed to engage the body and mind of the player in a new way. Rich in timbre and very expressive, and with no "wrong" notes to play, the Halo is made for free improvisation and meditative exploration. There as many styles of Halo play as there are players.

While unique in its specifics, the Halo was inspired by a revolutionary and evolutionary twenty-first century sound sculpture invented in Switzerland which may be familiar to many of our customers. We originally used this space to express personal gratitude to that sculpture's creators, but they asked that we not mention it by name. Out of respect to their wishes, we have removed those remarks and other references throughout our website, but our gratitude remains the same.

For over two years we worked to develop a contribution to this new art form, which we call a "handpan." We hope to demonstrate respect for the original's creators by not making a copy of their unique sculpture. Instead, we developed our own custom processes and materials in pursuit of a creation with a new voice. We feel we realized that vision in the Halo, an instrument with a soulful and rich timbre of its own, one capable of a powerful sonic experience.  

The first generation Halo, now dubbed the Halo Genesis, shipped over the last two years  shipping is larger and heavier than the sculpture that inspired its creation, allowing it to have a lower voice, a baritone to the original's tenors and altos. The warmth and projection of this lowered register creates a brand new tonal and physical experience for players. Please visit our Scales page for sample recordings of our out batch one, and currently available batch two, tunings to see what we mean.