Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Castle in the Sky
By Joe Hisaishi
Arr. Anusha Manglik '21
We can always count on Hayao Miyazaki to direct a film that includes loss, love, science, and flying objects, and Castle in the Sky is no exception. Also known as Laputa, the film was the first animated film of Studio Ghibli, released in 1983 in Japan. It tells the story of a young pair, Sheeta and Pazu, who are trying to find the floating castle in an old legend while escaping from both a gang of pirates and government spies. The plot contains references to both Biblical and Hindu religious scripts, also playing on the motive of the flying castle ‘Laputa’ in Gulliver’s Travels. Drawing upon ideas of future utopian society, the film serves as a complex social commentary on man’s relationship with nature and technology.
The score of the movie was written by the famous Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi in both movie snippets and a symphony, and I have taken aspects of both for this arrangement. The melodies are prevalent and simple, but beautiful, and many of the motifs are repeated across different instruments. The arrangement takes three of the main themes and links them together, one being the title theme, one being a fanfare, and the last being the theme for Laputa. I find that every time I listen, it puts me back in the peaceful, magical world of Miyazaki.
Program Notes by Anusha Manglik
Link to full program: drive.google.com/file/d/1cdT4aV6WD4afzNAwNUjo7vNailWBWwGG/view?usp=sharing
Castle in the Sky
By Joe Hisaishi
Arr. Anusha Manglik '21
We can always count on Hayao Miyazaki to direct a film that includes loss, love, science, and flying objects, and Castle in the Sky is no exception. Also known as Laputa, the film was the first animated film of Studio Ghibli, released in 1983 in Japan. It tells the story of a young pair, Sheeta and Pazu, who are trying to find the floating castle in an old legend while escaping from both a gang of pirates and government spies. The plot contains references to both Biblical and Hindu religious scripts, also playing on the motive of the flying castle ‘Laputa’ in Gulliver’s Travels. Drawing upon ideas of future utopian society, the film serves as a complex social commentary on man’s relationship with nature and technology.
The score of the movie was written by the famous Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi in both movie snippets and a symphony, and I have taken aspects of both for this arrangement. The melodies are prevalent and simple, but beautiful, and many of the motifs are repeated across different instruments. The arrangement takes three of the main themes and links them together, one being the title theme, one being a fanfare, and the last being the theme for Laputa. I find that every time I listen, it puts me back in the peaceful, magical world of Miyazaki.
Program Notes by Anusha Manglik
Link to full program: drive.google.com/file/d/1cdT4aV6WD4afzNAwNUjo7vNailWBWwGG/view?usp=sharing
![East Coast Pops Summit Final Performance [March 3rd, 2018]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Mo6ZrYalSA0/mqdefault.jpg "East Coast Pops Summit Final Performance [March 3rd, 2018]
Join us for a day-long celebration of instrumental pop music! On March 3rd, 2018, musicians from pop groups all over the east coast will gather in New Haven!
Groups Include:
Davenport Pops Orchestra
Columbia Pops
Harvard Pops
Coup de Brass
Yale Handbell Ensemble")
![DPops Summons the Heroes [October 7, 2016]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OR8KperFKiU/mqdefault.jpg "DPops Summons the Heroes [October 7, 2016]
Concert Notes Here: https://goo.gl/5OH3hD
In tonight’s concert, we celebrate heroes of all realms and origins, heroism of all forms and sizes, and most importantly, the music that brings our heroes to life.
We open with the title piece of our concert, John Williams’ Summon the Heroes, a brilliant anthem for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. Deviating from his usual oeuvre of film scores with this third work in a series of short pieces composed for the Olympics, Williams brings us to the joyous opening ceremonies of the games, where we express our pride and wonder at the herculean feats accomplished by athletes around the world.
There’s no lack of heroic feats in our next piece, a medley of our favorite songs from Hercules and Mulan. Heroes from two vastly different worlds, both nonetheless go the distance on their respective journeys to find their identity and bring honor to their families while singing all the way.
Defeating the Huns and performing godly acts of strength aren’t the only ways to leave a legacy, a fact brought to center stage in our new medley of world-changing pops songs. Featuring revolutionary hits anywhere from John Lennon’s “Imagine” to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love” to the classic Christian-hymn-turned-ubiquitous-melody, “Amazing Grace,” this arrangement wastes no time getting down to business to convince you of the geniuses who have left behind their mark. Singing and dancing are encouraged.
From there, we turn to an even more unconventional protagonist with two whimsical movements from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt suite. Originally composed to company a five-act allegorical drama by Henrik Ibsen, its namesake character is a Norwegian peasant anti-hero who adventures through life as a bride-kidnapper, outlaw, hermit, Moroccan businessman, Egyptologist, and troll. Intrigued yet?
We conclude our concert with music from E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, a timeless film about the homeward journey of an alien stranded on Earth and the bravery of the boy who helps him there heroism which transcends species and intergalactic distances which is truly something to call home about.")
