Aca-Awesome Yale Singers Serenade School

When someone who studies English just to be unemployed, someone who double majors in Geology and Astronomy just to be a rock star, someone who majors in public speaking but seems so shy in front of the crowd, and other people who study certain subjects for the most peculiar reasons come together into one group — The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus — the result is a powerhouse a capella group from Yale University and a fun Friday for the MacDuffie community.

The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, the second longest-running a cappella group in the nation, ignited the gym with enthusiasm. Its members sang a number of songs without any instrument accompaniment, and they also incorporated comedy into their performance. The gym was filled with laughter for the entire forty five minutes. “I was actually quite impressed,” said Junior Flavio Pinho de Almeida Reis.

After the performance, they held a workshop for the MacDuffie chorus. They split the chorus into four classes — bass, alto, tenor, and soprano. They gave every class a separate sheet of a song according to their classes, and asked them to eventually put together the song. The MacDuffie chorus did so successfully. Junior member Gretl Qiu said, “The fact that we brought a piece together in such a short amount of time is incredible.”

In addition to performing in other schools, the group does Q&As, workshops, and holds public concerts twice a year.

One of their members, Andrew Evren, is from Granby. He joined The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus in his Sophomore year. Being from a small town like Granby, Andrew noticed some differences at Yale, saying “Yale is a more active place. In Granby you don’t get woken up by a dump truck,” he said. He also gave some useful advice to high school students, stressing the importance of fun.