Symphonies of Sisterhood

How one Alpha Chi Omega chapter is continuing the legacy of its musical roots today.

SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY hosts the Iota Sigma chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. Founded in 1994, the sisters at 3020 Daniel Avenue are a tight-knit group for being such a young chapter. Fun fact: this chapter founded the signature philanthropy event Alpha Chi Couture in 2009, and to this day remains proud of their tradition of helping domestic violence victims through their heavily attended annual fashion show. But there’s something even more special about the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega Iota Sigma- they haven’t forgotten the singing traditions of their founders and make sure to let their campus community know it. 

The Belle Tones- a fitting name for the sole all-female acapella group at a southern university- boasts four SMU Alpha Chi Omegas on their roster; the group is affectionately known as simply “The Belles” by their campus community. MC ‘21 rising seniors Bree Slay and Annabel Firestone are the most senior singers in their musical organization. MC ‘23 Julia Petsche and Julianna Lu are younger members that found a bond in Belle Tones before running home to Alpha Chi this past January at the close of recruitment. 

These four ‘real strong women’ know what it takes to be leaders in their chapter and in Belle Tones. What they didn’t know is how quickly time flies when you’re sanguinely singing and serving the campus community with your sisters. It’s a different kind of symphony for these four Belle Tones- and there are certainly no discords in the harmony of these sisters. 

Of the 166 members in Iota Sigma, minus the impressive cohort of seniors that graduated this past May, all are involved in at least two other campus organizations. 

“With AXO, [...] everyone is involved in different things,” said Firestone. “So, you can learn about those other orgs that they’re apart of and see what they like and build off of their leadership and academic involvement.” 

Southern Methodist University hosts a variety of other clubs for members of greek life to join in addition to their chapters, but only five members of Belle Tones are involved in greek houses. 

Four of them are Alpha Chis. 

“Apart from Belle Tones, I know other Alpha Chis are involved in music [on campus]” said Slay.  There’s definitely more musical Alpha Chis than [just] Belle Tones.”

Iota Sigma’s Hayley Hudgens, MC ‘22 and current VP RFA, is a music major, for example.  

The chapter representation in Belle Tones is especially sweet to all of the Iota Sigma sisters who know that Alpha Chi was originally founded as a music fraternity. In an ironic twist, none of the current Belles knew this before running home. 

What drew these Alpha Chis to join Belle Tones? All four sisters joined for different reasons that echoed their desire to eventually join greek life as well. 

For Slay and Firestone, joining an acapella group during a worldwide stay at home order was interesting to say the least. 

“That fall, freshman year, I auditioned through Zoom and Bree and I auditioned at the same time,” said Firestone. “We didn’t know each other but later down the line we both ended up running home to Alpha Chi.”

“I knew I liked music and I was in choir in high school and so I wanted to be a part of this something music related not something super serious- something for fun,” Slay said.

Still, Slay elaborated, there are “two types of bonds” in Alpha Chi and Belle Tones. Both are equally fulfilling, but Slay claims she wouldn’t want one without the other. 

United in their bond- both sisterhood and song- the Belle Tones claim the support from their sisters at performances is truly music to their ears. It’s this kind of sisterhood that sets the chapter apart both on campus and beyond. 

MC ‘23 Julianna Lu’s unique experience of joining both Belle Tones and Alpha Chi in her freshman year is both inspiring and endearing. Through Belle Tones, she met Slay and Firestone, two older actives who showed her the ropes in striking the right notes on the lyre of life. 

“Belle Tones gave me a set of friends I could find within Alpha Chi when I joined the sorority,” explained Lu. “It’s nice having those girls that I knew before guide me through that new chapter of my life.”

Freshman year can be terrifying for any new college student, especially when you don’t know many other members of your cohort. Slay and Firestone made sure Lu had no reason to fear. 

Slay claims meeting Lu was equally as fulfilling for her, as she never expected Lu to be interested in joining Alpha Chi before joining Belle Tones. Lu also admits she wasn’t planning on joining a sorority before meeting the actives in Belle Tones. 

“I learned more about [Alpha Chi] after talking with them [Slay and Firestone]. That’s what really pushed me to want to rush,” said Lu. 

It’s a match made in melodious heaven, Lu assured me. 

Even though these four Belles have different voice parts in their acapella arrangements that require them to rehearse an array of different melodies, Lu enjoys how through Alpha Chi, the girls can still bond. 

“We still hang out together a lot,” said Lu. 

Petsche has a more unique story. Joining MC ‘23 as a junior, she claims, was surreal, but long overdue. The bonds she has made with others in her fellow member class, such as Lu, encouraged her to make the most out of her senior year in college and her first year in a sorority. 

“Having Juliana with me in the same MC is really nice,” said Petsche. “We’re really able to bond with our sisters from Belletones and Alpha Chi.”

As the story goes, Petsche, Slay, and Firestone grew close in their college friendships as the ‘24 students sang their way into the hearts of their fellow Mustangs over the past three years. But something wasn’t quite clicking for Petsche- she wasn’t fulfilled with just firing off impressive notes with her friends. 

She needed Iota Sigma’s sisterhood. 

“Joining Alpha Chi after meeting other Alpha Chis in Belles just made it all the better,” said Petsche.  

The Belles have leadership roles in both Alpha Chi as well as their acapella group, and all four are in the chapter’s Lyre Choir. It seems these sisters shine brightest when banded together belting notes. 

“It’s a lot of fun to perform on stage because in Belle Tones we all build off each other’s energy,” said Slay.

Slay serves as Iota Sigma’s Song Chair, while Petsche and Lu hope to assume more roles in Alpha Chi as they enjoy their first year of being active members. In Belle Tones, however, Lu is already active as the group’s assistant choreographer.

“We have several recitals throughout the year, but our spring recital is the one where we really introduce choreography,” said Lu. “When I first joined I had no idea what I was going into, but now, me and the head dance director work really hard to choreograph our recitals.”

Whether it’s belting ballads with sisters in the car after a long day of classes or crooning tunes with fellow Belles onstage, these four Alpha Chis have definitely got the beat. 

Iota Sigma is a perfect example of why sisterhood is the sweetest when sung with those you love.

To find out more about the SMU Iota Sigma chapter, visit:

https://linktr.ee/smualphachi?fbclid=IwAR0ynAh8pxszGRYkBhhOEORai69f-Y3FxoXXBk9d5yMOFn6x2QueaB4twYs.

To learn more about the Belletones, and the four Alpha Chis on the acapella group’s current roster, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBelleTones.