Yale a cappella group visiting Red Wing

A Red Wing native is bringing the Yale a cappella group The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus back to his hometown this month, 

The group is known on campus as the “SOBs” and Justin Scheerer, a Red Wing High School alumnus, is a member of the well established group. 

“Right now we have about 20 members, only 15 will be in Red Wing, and it is a collection of Yale undergraduates,” Scheerer said. “We travel the world and do all sorts of things and I’m excited to bring the group to Red Wing.” 

The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus is the second longest operating undergraduate a cappella group in the country. 

“We are a mostly male group with a repertoire spanning the last 80 years, including jazz, traditional, folk, gospel and music from every decade,” Scheerer said. 

Scheerer is the business manager for the group and has made it a goal to bring the group back to his hometown. 

“One mission of the group is to try and make it to every member’s hometown during out time in the group,” he said. “We are a very diverse group of backgrounds, we have several international students.”

Normally the group wouldn’t be able to make Red Wing a stop on their agenda, because of financial challenges. 

However, with the help of some local foundations, the group is able to travel here this year. 

“We have to get funding on our tours and normally Red Wing wouldn’t be possible, but very generously the Jones Family Foundation, the Red Wing Area Fund and the Wings Foundation all agreed to support us to make this possible,” Scheerer said. 

The group will be in town from May 11 through May 14.

While in town the group will be visiting Twin Bluff Middle School and Red Wing High School. 

“We are going to start at the middle school, and we will run a performance and do a little workshop with the students,” Scheerer said. 

“At the high school we will be performing for the 200 students in the choir program and run an open question and answer session,” he continued. 

The group hopes to spread the message that no matter what students decide to major in, they can still participate in music. 

“No matter what your major is, you can still sing and perform and it can be a huge part of your college experience and you don’t have to give up on music,” he said.

It is a personal goal of his to talk with the students in Red Wing and provide resources to them when navigating the challenges of college admissions. 

He wants students to know that there are resources available to them and that they can in fact apply and get into competitive universities like Yale. 

“A few of the group members will run a workshop after the performance that talks about students from small towns that can apply to selective universities,” Scheerer said. 

Scheerer wants students to know about the free resources that he took advantage of when applying to selective universities. 

The a cappella group will be hosting a public concert at the First Presbyterian Church in Red Wing on Saturday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m.