Under the Monocle: Jack Pals hones in on a special craft, the accordion

Most students that you would ask at York are in many different extracurricular activities, from sports to clubs, most are pretty run of the mill. But if you ask senior Jack Pals, you will hear an activity that you may not be familiar with; he plays the accordion.

Pals started playing at a young age, and he stuck with it, using his free time to play that special musical instrument that has had a major impact on his life. 

“I started pretty much from the time that I could walk,” Pals said. “My family is European so we would always go to “Oktoberfest” and I would also see the accordion playing and I thought it was a really neat instrument. And I stuck with that.”

Pals started the accordion and continued to learn and grow based on a family member. 

“There was this old show that my Grandma used to watch, and they had an accordion player who was my idol,” Pals said. “I learned how to play my first few songs from watching him, and then I got a teacher and went from there.”

He learned his craft from more family, who are also very musically based, so he always had a great support system that helped him in anything that he needed.  Whether it was performing or stage presence, he always had somebody 

“There are a lot of musical people on my dad’s side of the family, so I always got pointers from him,” Pals said. “They gave tips on state presence, and eventually put me in competitions where I could go up against other accordion players in the world. All of those tips definitely helped me grow as a player.”

While most people would not consider the accordion to be a major band instrument, Pals hopes that performing the accordion will start to get the word out about the great instrument that it is.

“There are still accordion bands throughout the world, there are accordion orchestras, bands, pretty much every band had an accordion player back in the day,” Pals said. “It is intimidating because especially people our age have never seen things like that, so people may think it is odd, but that is what I like about it.” 

Pals got to share his art with his peers this year, with the opportunity to perform during Fine Arts Week, creating one of the most electric shows of the whole week.

“If it wasn’t for the accordion, I probably would not be able to do much during that week, so it was super fun to have that opportunity that I will never forget,” Pals said. 

Fine Arts Week director, Chris Gemkow, has had very limited time to work with Pals, but during the time they had together, Gemkow had nothing but positive things to say .

“His passion for the accordion is inspiring, it represents the most sincere form of being true to yourself and what you love,” Gemkow said. “He puts so much enthusiasm and joy into his music and you can’t help but feel it when he’s performing.”

Pals performed during York Live A, and everybody in the audience was surprised during his performance, not expecting an accordion to be performed at all. 

“It was amazing to see a performance that was so unexpected,” junior Lena Baumann said. “I had never heard an accordion live before, it was super fun. 

Pals hoped to instill some great music that many of his peers have never heard before, while also playing an instrument that he loves.

“Before I perform I always get the nerves,” Pals said. “But once I am onstage and you see everyone in the crowd cheering your name, it’s like time stops. There is nothing in this world like performing, and I am just glad that I have had the opportunity to do it.”