How it all began…

At 3:55 pm on a rainy afternoon in the fall of 2001, "Eight Ladies & A Beau Tie" prepared for their first official performance at the EMU Amphitheatre at the University of Oregon. The eight ladies, along with a few supportive friends as well as some members of the popular UO men's a cappella group On the Rocks, huddled under the cement structure near the campus "Buzz Café." The ladies bravely kicked off their 3-song set with Manhattan Transfer's "Java Jive" into the Cranberries' "No Need to Argue" & finished off with "Catch a Falling Star." The eight ladies were: Evynne Smith, Hayley McGee, Anna Joham, Julie Lehnhardt, Monica Karlin, Molly Dames, Liza Webb & Amy Snell (minus a "beau tie").

The group's first official rehearsal was on Wednesday, October 17th, 2001 & the group rehearsed twice a week. That fall wasn't much of a success for 8LBT & most of their time was spent looking for a male "beau tie" who was a great "beat-boxer" and fit into the group. However, when the ladies found their beau - he didn't last long. After the New Year, 8LBT took their first road trip down to Berkeley, CA to support On the Rocks at the Quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) held at UC Berkeley. The night of competition, Berkeley's all-female group called the California Golden Overtones took the stage & blew everyone away. The year before they had won the ICCA International Finals in New York City. What was most inspiring about the Overtones was that they were the only all-female group in the competition & several different women in the group did vocal percussion (beat-boxing). Little did the ladies of 8LBT know that night would change the history of women's a cappella at the University of Oregon & make a huge impact on the future of women's a cappella on the West Coast and now throughout the country.

When 8LBT returned home in the winter of 2002, they said goodbye to their "beau tie" and decided to become the U of O's premier women's a cappella group – Divisi. After an uneventful spring term, the following year only 3 members remained: Evynne, Haley & Julie. That fall, eight new women joined the group – Suzie, Lisa, Anna, Katie, Josi, Sarah, Rachel & Diana – and Divisi set out to become one of the top collegiate women's a cappella groups in the Nation.

-Evynne Smith
UO Divisi Co-Founder

Divisi Today

Divisi performs a wide variety of musical styles including pop, R&B and jazz with original pieces & covers originally performed by artists such as Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, Imogen Heap, Joss Stone, Maroon 5, and even Usher! Brought together through our love of music, the group has reached great heights, stretched the boundaries of collegiate a cappella, and become the most talked about all female collegiate group in the last 5 years!

Constantly working to achieve the highest level of musicality and performance, Divisi competes in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), tours and performs for gigs all around the nation. While home in Eugene, Divisi enjoys performing with On the Rocks every Friday in the EMU Amphitheater for the wonderful students and community members of the University of Oregon

In addition to performing, Divisi has three stellar albums: “Red Hot”, “Undivided”, and "Roots". The group has sold over 3,000 albums since the release of "Undivided," which won the 2006 CARA for Best Female Collegiate A Cappella Album of the Year and also garnered the award for Best Female Collegiate Arrangement for their hit song "Yeah."

For up to date information and Divisi happenings, be sure to check out our News and Performances!

Divisi Timeline

  • Winter 2002 Divisi is founded.
  • Fall 2002 The group does not place at the ICCA Quarterfinals.
  • The group is given the “Best Testosterone” award for their extremely low altos (Anna Corbett & Lisa Forkish).
  • Summer 2003 Divisi begins recording their first album “RED HOT”.
  • Fall 2003 Divisi wins ICCA Quarterfinals at UC Berkeley.
  • Winter 2004 They take home 3rd place at the ICCA Semifinals in Stanford
        • Anna Corbett wins Best Soloist for “Let’s Get It On”
        • Divisi also wins Best Arrangement & Best Choreography at both Quarter & Semifinal competitions.
  • Spring 2004 Divisi’s first album “RED HOT” is released.
  • Winter 2005 Divisi hosts the premier ICCA Quarterfinals at South Eugene High.
        • Sarah Klein wins Best Arrangement for “Woodstock”
        • Evynne Smith wins Best Soloist for “Woodstock”
        • Erica Barkett wins for Best Choreography
  • 2006 CARA Nominations released:
        • Best Female Collegiate Song – “Woodstock”
  • “Catch Me if You Can” from “RED HOT” is chosen for the 2005 Voices Only Compilation CD.
  • Mid-Winter 2005 Divisi wins the ICCA Semifinals sending them to New York to compete in the finals at Lincoln Center representing the West Region.
  • Evynne Smith wins Best Soloist for “Woodstock”
  • Erica Barkett wins for Best Choreography
  • Spring 2005  Divisi competes in the ICCA Finals & takes second place.
        • They are the ONLY females on stage that night competing against 5 other all-male a cappella groups from around the country.
  • Erica Barkett wins for Best Choreography
  • Fall 2005 The group’s second album “Undivided” is released.
  • Winter 2006 Divisi hosts the 2nd Annual ICCA Quarterfinals at the Hult Center.
  • 2006 CARA Nominations released:
  • Best Female Collegiate Album
  • Best Female Collegiate Song – “Yeah”
  • Best Soloist – Katie Hopkins for “Queen of the Night”
  • Best Female Collegiate Arrangement – “Yeah”
    • “Yeah” makes BOCA 2006 (Best of Collegiate A Cappella) Album
    • “Yeah” makes Sing 2 2006 – A compilation of professional and collegiate a cappella groups.
  • Spring 2006 Divisi tours the East Coast.
  • They sing in North Carolina, Washington DC in the Senate office, New Haven at Yale, Boston at Tufts University, in Ithaca at Cornell & finish off with a professional show in NYC.
  • 2006 A Cappella Community Awards announced:
        • Favorite Female Collegiate Group
  • Late-Spring 2006 – Divisi WINS 2 CARA’s:
  • Best Female Collegiate Album of the Year
  • Best Female Collegiate Arrangement – “Yeah” Arr. Evynne Smith
        • Their hit song “Yeah” is also runner-up for Best Female Collegiate Song of the Year.
  • Work begins on their 3rd album.
  • Summer 2006Divisi performs at Disneyland!
  • 8 members of the group graduate.
  • Fall 2006 Divisi gains 9 new members:
        • Andrea Welsh, Emmalee Almroth, Jenna Tooley, Meghan Bell, Michaela Cordova, Megan Schimmer, Rachelle Wofford, Andrea Lucia & Haley Steinberger
  • Winter 2007 Divisi hosts & competes in the 3rd Annual ICCA Quarterfinals at the Hult.
  • They win 1st place.
  • Divisi Alum Erica Barkett wins Best Choreography.
  • 2007 A Cappella Community Awards announced:
  • Runner-up: Favorite Female Collegiate Group
  • Spring 2007 Divisi takes 3rd place at the ICCA Semifinals in CA.
  • Erica Barkett wins Best Choreography for “Hide & Seek”.
  • Summer 2007 The Past & Present women of Divisi work on their upcoming album.
        • 3rd album release date is Spring 2008
        • Divisi gains one new member, Molly Richardson
  • Fall 2007
        • Divisi gains two new members, Laurie Fullmer and Megan Robertson
        • Divisi performs at the West Coast A Cappella Showcase in October in Berkeley, CA
        • Divisi prepares to host and perform at the ICCA Quarterfinals in February 2008
  • Winter 2008
        • Divisi competes at the ICCA Quarterfinals at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon
        • Divisi wins first place, Quarterfinal Champion, at the ICCA Quarterfinal
        • Haley Steinberger wins best solo for “Truth No. 2”
        • Megan Schimmer wins best choreography for “You Had Me”
  • Spring 2008
        • Divisi competes at the ICCA Semifinals at the Marin Center for the Performing Arts in San Rafael, California
        • Divisi wins first runner up at the ICCA West Coast Semifinals
        • Michaela Cordova wins best female solo for “You Had Me”
        • Senior editor of GQ magazine Mickey Rapkin releases his book, “Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory”, in which Divisi is one of three groups featured
        • Divisi is featured in numerous national magazines, local television, and all over the web.
        • Divisi performs in the Divisi Spring Show to a sell-out, standing-room-only crowd of over 800 fans in Eugene.
        • Divisi travels to California for a book-signing gig for “Pitch Perfect” and performs with the internationally acclaimed professional a cappella group The House Jacks
        • Divisi travels to Disneyland to perform for the Disney Magic Music Days
  • Fall 2008
        • Divisi gains two new members, Lindsay Varien and Johanna Vinson!