The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus
| The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The SOBs |
| Origin | Yale University, New Haven, CT |
| Genres | A cappella, Choral, Barbershop music, Comedy music |
| Years active | 1938–present |
| Website | http://www.yalesobs.com |
| Members |
Tenor I Nick Maas '14+1 Kyle Picha '14+1 Xiao Shi (9 Tigers) '15 Gabriel Reynoso-Palley '16 Benson May '17 Khyber Shepperd '18 Tenor II Jason No '15 Douglas Streat '16 Jesse Wang '17 Dylan Hosmer-Quint '18 Jacob Prince '18 Baritone Gabriel Acheson '16 Jack Holds '16 Kristoffer Acuña '17 Dane Underwood '17 Bass Aaron Effron '15 Jordan Lee '17 Jason Morris '17 Kwasi Enin '18 Stephan Sveshnikov '18 Douglas Streat, Orpheus (Musical Director) Gabriel Reynoso-Palley, Prometheus (Business Manager) |
The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, also known as the SOBs, is an all-male a cappella singing group from Yale University. Founded in 1938,[1] The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus is the second longest-running a cappella group in the United States, after the Yale Whiffenpoofs. Alumni of the SOBs have gone on to be founding members of other collegiate a cappella groups such as The Pitchforks of Duke University (Jeff Warren '78) and The Chorallaries of MIT (David H. Bass '75, also composer of their Engineer's Drinking Song).[2]
History
On October 31, 1938, twelve Yale undergraduates gathered at Mory's Temple Bar to form an alternative a cappella group to the Yale Whiffenpoofs.[3] The group capitalized on a back-handed compliment received from an audience member: "These SOBs are good!" and formed a backronym.
Music and Comedy
The Society’s repertoire, which contains over 200 arrangements, is composed entirely of music arranged by current and former members of the group during its more than seven decades of existence. It spans a variety of genres from barbershop to jazz to songs by more contemporary artists like Queen, MIKA, Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, Tenacious D, Jason Mraz, and Michael Bublé.[4] In addition to singing, the group prides itself on its comedy, with a typical concert including shtick written by members of the group. Each year, the Society of Orpheus and Bacchus performs across the nation and around the world, typically in tuxedos or in suits with custom group neckties. They have performed at the White House, La Fortaleza in Puerto Rico, the American Airlines Arena for the NBA team the Miami Heat, as well as at country clubs, yacht clubs, churches, schools, and resorts. The SOBs are one of only two groups—along with the Whiffenpoofs—that have a weekly engagement at Mory's Temple Bar.
Discography
The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus currently records a new album every other year. Since its founding, it has recorded and released 21 albums:
| Album Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Songs of the O's and B's | 1948 | |
| The Lost Album | 1954 | |
| Pretty Girl | 1961 | |
| A Toast to the Gods | 1963 | |
| Stepping Out | 1966 | |
| Grapes on Cover | 1967 | |
| The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus | 1969 | |
| Smile Away | 1972 | |
| Greatest Hits | 1976 | |
| An Evening with the Immortals | 1978 | |
| Too Much is Just Enough | 1981 | |
| Intemperance | 1987 | |
| Drinking from Lethe | 1992 | |
| Morning After the Gods | 1995 | |
| Wine in a Box | 1998 | |
| Hot Damn! | 2003 | |
| One for the Road | 2006 | |
| Bandoleros | 2008 | |
| The Continuing Adventures of Cyrus T. Elk and His Fantastical Flying Machine | 2010 | |
| Some Pig! | 2012 |
The latest SOB album, Some Pig!, has been reviewed by the Recorded A Cappella Review Board.[5]
Notable Alumni
- Hunter H. Comly '41 - identifier of the cause of the Blue Baby Syndrome.[6]
- Paul Lebaron Springer '41 - a former intelligence officer, awarded by the CIA with the Intelligence Medal of Merit upon retirement.[7]
- Ralph Levy '42 - an Emmy Award-winning American producer, film and television director.
- William Collins Jr. '45 - a professor and Chief of Yale School of Medicine in 1967.[8]
- David Chavchavadze '50 - an American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer.
- Sam Weisman '69 - an American film director and an executive producer of NBC's The Sing-Off.
- Robert Picardo '75 - an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Dr. Dick Richards on ABC's China Beach, the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH), also known as The Doctor, on UPN's Star Trek: Voyager, The Cowboy in Innerspace, and Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years (where he received an Emmy nomination).
- James L. Connaughton '83 - an American energy industry lawyer and the former George W. Bush administration environmental adviser.
- Roy Jenkins '84 - award-winning and twice Emmy-nominated comedy writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, alumnus of The Groundlings.
- Jeb Brown '86 - Broadway performer, notable for his roles in Grease and most recently Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
- Mike Errico '88 - American singer-songwriter, composer, and producer.
- Tad Low '88 - creator and producer of television shows, including Pop-Up Video and Pants-Off Dance-Off.
- Henry Blodget '88 - Editor and CEO of Business Insider.
- John Gidding '99 - an American architect, television actor, former fashion model, one of the designers on the ABC Family show, Knock First, and currently appearing on Curb Appeal: The Block.
Notes
- ↑ "Yale Extra Curricular Groups". Yale Office of Admissions. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
- ↑ "School Mascots". The Tech. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
- ↑ Mickey Rapkin (4 September 2012). Pitch Perfect (movie tie-in): The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Penguin Group US. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-1-101-60903-3. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ↑ "The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus - Music". yalesobs.com. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
- ↑ "Recorded A Cappella Review Board Album Reviews". Rarb.org. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
- ↑ "Yale School of Medicine Memoriam for Hunter H. Comly'41". Yale School of Medicine.
- ↑ "Obituary for Paul L. Springer'41".
- ↑ "Memoriam for William Collins Jr.'45".