“The concept is ‘Encaged,’ and it’s about being in bondage and breaking out and finding what sets you free in life,” said Gavin Dover, a senior majoring in choral music education and director of Resonance.
It is Dover’s first year directing the show choir, and he said the hardest part of directing is leading a group of peers. The show will feature a variety of music, from Broadway to classic rock and even music from “A Goofy Movie.” Although Dover held in a leadership position the year prior, this year he said he is pushing the group to its limits.
“Leading people your own age is always going to be difficult, and there’s no way getting around that,” Dover said. “This group especially has made it really easy for me to lead them because they’ve been very curious. They always want to learn something new, and they always want to be challenged. That’s why this is the hardest show that we have ever put on because the group wanted it, and they asked for it.”
Steven Vuong, a junior majoring in nursing, said he thinks finding a dynamic within in the group can be hard, but this year Resonance became close quickly. Vuong has been a member of Resonance since his freshman year and said he is excited the group is featuring a diverse range of music this year.
Two of the songs Vuong spoke about are “Break Free” by Without Tomorrow and “Watch Me Soar” by Scott Alan, which will take the audience from a rock and roll song to a soft ballad.
“Sometimes I’ll catch myself doing choreography when I’m listening to the songs when I’m in class,” Vuong said. “I’ll realize it and think ‘Oh did I just do a shampoo move over my head in front of the whole class?’”
For most of the students in Resonance, they began show choir in middle school or high school. For Emily Odom, a junior majoring in choral education, Resonance was more than just a show choir – it was a family affair.
“My sister was in Resonance when I was in tenth grade,” she said. “The creator of Resonance was my teacher in high school, so he told us all about it.”
This is the first year Odom has had time to do show choir. She said after watching her sister perform she was excited to put on the traditional crimson dress the girls wear for performances. This year Resonance modernized the dresses.
“I liked the concept of the original costume, but I think it could have been made better,” Odom said. “We’ve had the original dresses since 2007 when Resonance first began. I do love the dresses now though, they’re very pretty and flowy and flatter everyone.”
Resonance will perform at the Bama Theatre Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults.
