What came first, the chicken or the egg? Most people who saw Lincoln Southwest "Resonance" this past season would say the chicken came first. Resonance's Chicken Little theme was a well-designed show featuring three string players, female soloist Aubrey Falter, and an amazing barn set in the background showing that the sky is truly falling. While the 2024 season was an excellent one for the program,there's plenty that set them up for this successful year.
Resonance is known for stepping outside of the traditional show choir tropes and doing more story-like shows. They often base their shows off shows, movies, or even video games with main characters and stories to tell. Their director, Andrew Jacobson, has arranged the music since he started there in 2012. They are choreographed by April James and Ben Eklund, a pairing that has worked with Rez since 2019.
Speaking of 2019, LSW's show that year was titled "The Three Little Pigs". It was a fun yet lively show retelling the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. The show got Resonance two Grand Champion awards and three 1st Runner-Ups that year. Caption awards include multiple Best Vocals and Best Choreography awards, even stealing a Best Choreography from local favorite Onalaska Hilltoppers at the Logan Showcase in Wisconsin. Resonance also got Best Band awards at four of the five competitions they went to, two Best Costumes awards and four awards for Best Soloist or Best Performer. 2019 served as a great year for Resonance, placing above schools such as Elkhorn, Millard South, Oklahoma's Broken Arrow, and Wisconsin's La Crosse Central.
Resonance was going strong in 2020 as well, but the pandemic shut down Nebraska competitions for the whole 2021 season. This created some bumps in the road for a majority of Nebraska show choirs, who had to rebuild what they had going. This change impacted Resonance, as they were not able to fully get back their pre-pandemic prime until 2024. Despite that, their 2022 and 2023 were the building blocks to get them back into the groove.
Andrew Seuferer was added as a second director to Resonance in 2022. He came to Lincoln having previously directed at Auburn in southern Nebraska, and is the music teacher at Holmes Elementary. Rez's show theme that season was Mario Kart, another fun and engaging show taking audiences through the journey of racing with the familiar video game cast of characters. The show notched them three 1st Runner-Up awards, one 2nd Runner-Up and one 4th Runner-Up. Comparatively, it was a tough season for LSW, especially at Elkhorn South's Crystal Cup. Papio South Titanium, Westside ATSC, Papio Free Spirit, and Millard North Infinity all brought their game to that competition, giving Resonance a challenging time. Despite this, the group still fought to win and had an excellent show that day. They did take three Best Band awards that year, as well as two Best Soloists, and a Best Ballad caption. At the Norris Fields of Talent competition, they took Best Vocals from Lincoln East but fell just short and were 1st Runner-Up overall. This was the start of rebuilding the program back to its former glory.
Going towards the musical theatre realm, Wicked was the group's theme in 2023. They were climbing the ladder that year, starting their season with a 2nd Runner-Up, going on and getting three 1st Runner-Ups and ending their season with a Grand Champion win. Their first competition, the UNL Midwest Cup, was a tough one with Johnston Innovation in town from Iowa and LSW's rival Lincoln East Express also in attendance. Addison Stelzer shone that day and earned the Best Female Solosit award. In their next few competitions, Resonance received caption awards such as Best Ballad and Best Costumes, as well as taking Best Vocals from Lincoln East at Norris. Steven Dao also won Best Male Soloist at Norris, adding another caption to the group's collection for the season. Millard North Galaxy of the Stars was their best competition by far. During this competition, Resonance got Best Vocals, Best Choreography, and Best Opener. The natural conclusion was a victory, Resonance's first of the year. Aubrey Falter also won Best Performer, which was a sign of things to come in 2024.
Resonance 2024's Chicken Little show.
Heading into 2024, LSW was primed for a breakout season and a return to pre-pandemic form. Gretna Primetime was snowed in and had their competition postponed two days, taking place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Despite this, Resonance still showed up and got their first Grand Champion of the season. Their caption awards include Best Vocals, Best Choreography, Best Opener and two Best Soloist awards for Aubrey Falter and Tyler Stover. The next season stop was Midwest Cup, where Wheaton Warrenville South The Classics and Lincoln East Express were their main competition. Resonance was able to take Best Vocals from WWS and nab an additional Best Band, winning another Grand Champion. Aubrey Falter once again was Best Female Soloist at this competition. Lincoln East's Spartan Spectacular was not easy either, as Millard West, Pius X and Norris each had great seasons in the past. Prelims placements put Resonance on top, and they continued to hold that in finals. This time, they swept Best Vocals, Best Choreo and Best Band and added Grand Champion win to their record.
Resonance exited the month of January with three wins to its name and a lengthy gap to its next competition, the Norris Fields of Talent near the end of February. A stout field including Lincoln East, Ankeny Centennial and Papio South was sure to give LSW a run for its money. In prelims, Resonance was fourth, with Papio South, Lincoln East and Ankeny Centennial placing above them. However, Resonance was able to make strides and leapfrogged Papio South, placing third in finals.
The biggest test was at the close of the season, as Resonance traveled to Chicagoland for the Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic. A new-for-2024 format meant that only the top four mixed groups advanced to the evening round. A sixth-place showing in prelims would have been good enough for finals anywhere else, but it meant that LSW packed up after prelims. A bright spot in the prelim awards ceremony was Falter, who claimed the fourt Best Female Soloist award of her senior season.
The 2025 season will be somewhat of a shakeup for Resonance. Gone is the traditional trip to Norris and any competing in June. The group's season will run for six consecutive weekends, starting at Sioux Falls Jefferson on January 11 and ending at Lincoln Northwest on February 15. Stops at Burke, Standing Bear and Omaha Westside are sandwiched in between, as well as a weekend spent hosting the Southwest Showdown.
Will a shakeup in show style also come in 2025? Only time will tell. Until then, LSW has quite the legacy to look back on.
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