Adding a new tune to campus with the BYU Accordion Club

The BYU Accordion Club has found its place after a full semester of activity.

What started as a handful of accordion players has grown into one of the newest clubs on campus officially becoming a club at the end of Fall Semester 2025.

There is nothing quite like music that can unite people, and Brigham Young University's many music groups are what brought the accordion players on campus together. For Andrew Israelsen, that connection started online.

Israelsen remembers his senior year of high school well. Back in 2021-22, Israelsen, like many, was watching random live streams on Reddit as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to keep people home. One livestream featured a man playing the accordion.

"I'd watch them play for two hours, ask them all of my questions, and I was like, 'I think I want to get one.'"

Israelsen said he quickly realized how expensive they were, so he turned to buying used accordions like many other club members.

Unlike Israelsen, James Allen began playing the accordion when he was about 10 years old.

"I got an accordion for Christmas pretty randomly one year, so I started learning it," Allen said.

Allen took accordion lessons with his piano lessons, and after many years, switched to a professional teacher whom he still meets with regularly.

The students were introduced to the accordion in different ways, but campus music groups ultimately brought them together. In this case, the folk groups on campus became a catalyst for the club's formation.

Mark Geslison, who directs several campus groups including the Celtic Ensemble, American Folk Dance Ensemble and Mountain Strings, messaged Israelsen after auditions.

Geslison said more accordionists tried out than there were spots, which is unusual because the accordion is not typically a competitive instrument.

Geslison urged the accordion players to get together.

On October 25, a group chat was created to discuss forming an unofficial club, and they planned their first meeting.

At that first meeting, they had eight accordion players show up and they began meeting weekly, informally playing around campus. On December 12, they submitted paperwork to become the newest club on campus.

Now, the club meets weekly and often starts meetings by playing hymns together.

"Hymns can be easier to play together," Sierra Martin said. "Some people play one hand and some people play chords. We all play together."

The club then splits into groups. One group focuses on the right hand, another focuses on the left hand before bringing the groups together at the end.

Despite the complexity of the instrument, club members say the accordion is approachable.

People may feel intimidated by the accordion based on its look and many moving parts, but Allen said not to worry.

"It's hard at first, but once you get past the little hump at the beginning, it's so fun."

Those interested in joining the accordion club do not need any experience.

"We have a lot of people who have never played the accordion or who don't have an accordion," Martin said.

Visit its Instagram page @accordionclub.byusa for more information about the club.

"It's just so much fun," Allen said.