The Virginia Belles are the most established and professional all-female a cappella group at the University of Virginia. With this said, they are simply a fun-loving group of talented girls who love the odd praxis of creating music without instruments. The Belles have been performing at a variety of venues on Grounds, within the Charlottesville area and up and down the East Coast for over 32 years.

More recently, they have performed for UVa President John Casteen III on multiple occasions, opened for Ingrid Michaelson at the Music Inspires Health concert in Washington D.C., and performed at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, as well as at various prestigious colleges and universities including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Brown and Georgetown. In 2007, the Belles were featured on the Virginia Tech Memorial A Cappella CD to commemorate the victims of the April 16th shootings. The Belles have also received awards such as the CARA

award (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards) for Best Collegiate Song of the Year (Runner-Up) and placed 3rd at the Varsity Vocals International Championship of A Cappella Quarter Finals in 2003.

Now for a little history lesson. The Belles were founded in the fall of 1977 by Katherine Mitchell, a student at the University of Virginia. A woman who continues to love music, Katherine noticed that there was no outlet for female a cappella at UVa. The Virginia Gentlemen, the university's oldest all-male a cappella group had been established at the University since 1953. Katherine therefore formed the Virginia Belles to serve as a female counterpart to the VG's. In 1977, the Belles were a select part of the Women's Chorus. The most talented members of the Women's Chorus were asked to audition for the Belles., singing both madrigal and popular music. Today, the Belles are a Contracted Independent Organization run through UVa's student council and are no longer a part of the Women's Chorus. The group is entirely student-run and still remains affiliated with the UVa Music Department.

© 2008 Virginia Belles. | caitlin alexander

Newcomb Hall

SAC Box 334

P.O. Box 400715

Charlottesville, VA 22903

Notice of UVa Policy: Although this organization has members who are University of Virginia students and may have University employees associated or engaged in its activities and affairs, the organization is not part of or an agency of the University. It is a separate and independent organization which is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise or control the organization and is not responsible for the organization's contracts, acts, or omissions.