Photos courtesy of Jim Rommel and Carl Funderburg.
Jim Rommel, left, and Carl Funderburg
Left: Jim Rommel of Prosper, Texas wants to redefine the accordion experience at his free concert April 11 at Brookwood Baptist Church. Photo courtesy of Jim Rommel. Right: Left: Carl Funderburg is an accordion player and member at Brookwood who helped organize the event through the Alabama Accordion Association. Photo courtesy of Carl Funderburg.Left: Carl Funderburg is an accordion player and member at Brookwood who helped organize the event through the Alabama Accordion Association. Photo courtesy of Carl Funderburg.
Accordionist Jim Rommel will bring a high-energy, genre-spanning free show to Brookwood Baptist Church on Saturday, April 11 at 2 p.m., promising an afternoon far from a traditional buttoned-up recital.
“People have such a misconception about what the accordion is,” Rommel said. “When I tell people I play, they think, ‘Oh, polka, polka, polka.’ That’s it. But there’s so much more.”
The Prosper, Texas, musician plans a mix of classic rock, country, musical theater, vocals and audience participation aimed at overturning stereotypes about his instrument. And yes, there will be some polkas, too.
One of Rommel’s signature numbers is Queen’s rock anthem, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” played on an acoustic accordion — his personal choice over an electronic one.
Rommel is also a singer, which will be a big part of his show.
“I will be trying to engage the audience,” said Rommel, whose performances have been described as “electrifying.” “My goal here is to make it fun.”
Brookwood Baptist has hosted yearly accordion concerts for more than two decades.
“The accordion is often described as an orchestra in a box because it can play both melody and harmony at the same time,” said Craig Funderburg, a Brookwood church member and former president of the Alabama Accordion Association, which is sponsoring the event. “The accordion was developed as an alternative to the church pipe organ because it is portable.”
Funderburg and Rommel met through accordion circles.
For Rommel, his musical mission began, improbably, with a knock at the front door of his childhood home in New Jersey.
“There was a door-to-door accordion salesman, believe it or not,” said Rommel, who is also vice president of IT services for a manufacturing and high-tech company. “He said, ‘Hey, we opened up a music school down the street. We’re giving free accordion lessons, plus an accordion for 10 weeks if you want to sign up.’ So my parents signed me up.”
That reluctant decision became the foundation of a lifetime in music — one that has taken him from his first paid gig at a church spaghetti supper around age 9 to decades of regular performances in Texas.
“When I first started playing the accordion, and I was in junior high, it honestly was a little bit embarrassing,” Rommel said. “The accordion wasn’t as cool as the guitar. And I thought, ‘I don’t want people to know I play.’”
His friends quickly challenged that idea.
“As my friends found out about it, they thought it was really cool and unique,” he said. “Now I take that whole different perspective. It’s very unique. And cool. My favorite thing is to blow away people’s preconceived ideas about what the accordion can do.”
Acoustic accordion player Jim Rommel will perform a free concert on Saturday, April 11 at 2 p.m. at Brookwood Baptist Church, 3449 Overton Road. Doors open at 1:45 p.m. For details and tickets, visit bamaaccordionists.com.
