The Minds Behind the Music

Whether we’re tuning into the beat of our hearts or the cadence of our strides, there are unique rhythms and patterns that keep us moving through our daily lives. It’s no surprise, then, that music plays such a large part in shaping the human experience, especially in the realm of creative expression.

For VCFS, music is called upon across all scenes, throughout the model, dance, and  course, musical performances. We sat down with this year’s Head of Music, Zaid Kasim, and two musicians on the portfolio, Katie Goddard and Logan Cohen to discuss how they interpreted this year’s theme “Saw You in a Dream” across the seven scenes of the show.

The first scene of the show, Folklore, encapsulates how stories and traditions are passed down through generations. When it came time to choose a song that fit the scene, Zaid and the music team referred to the creative team’s theme handbook and found some common themes that they wanted to showcase in the music. Eventually they decided on Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide as it was a perfect match for the themes of shared relationships. Arranged with two guitars, the song is reminiscent of a story told around a fire with an intimate group of friends.

“The process of choosing each song is a collaborative effort between the musicians, allowing everyone to play to their strengths,” said Zaid. As such, some of the songs chosen have been slightly altered to better showcase the musicians’ talents and communicate the theme. One of the scenes features Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” which is a high-energy song that can grab the attention of any audience. For the show however, the musicians have come together and taken the song down the route of a ballad.

VCFS is a challenging yet exciting creative endeavor as striking a balance between working with and against the theme is what makes the show so captivating, not only to organize, but see come together as an audience member. Tickets for our 2023 show “Saw You in a Dream” are now on sale, with all proceeds going towards Pathways to Education.