Selections from Up: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Michael Brown's arrangement mines the film's emotional peaks and humor without relying on overstuffed orchestration. At Grade 3, the writing respects what your band can execute while keeping the spirit of Giacchino's original intact. Programming a Pixar medley gives you repertoire that resonates with students, audiences, and families alike.

Warm, purposeful, and occasionally whimsical. The music captures the film's central theme of adventure and companionship, moving from intimate moments to broader, more buoyant passages. Giacchino's harmonic language feels modern but never alienating, offering genuine emotional content beneath its entertaining surface.

Concert bands at the intermediate level who want repertoire that excites audiences without requiring advanced technical facility. This arrangement works equally well for a school band looking to build confidence through recognizable material or a community ensemble seeking popular film music.

• Lean into the film's comedic timing. Where the original score uses silence or rhythmic space for comedic effect, respect those moments rather than filling them with sound.
• Balance the melodic line across your section. Giacchino's themes are often passed between instruments, so mark who has the primary voice at each transition and ensure clear communication in rehearsal.
• Shape phrases with the film's emotional arc in mind. Consult the movie itself if you can; seeing the visual context for each musical moment helps your ensemble understand phrasing intent.
• Pay particular attention to articulation markings in the woodwind and brass parts. The clarity of the arrangement depends on precise execution of staccato and legato characters.

Include this medley on a spring concert alongside other accessible repertoire, or use it as a closer when you want audiences leaving with a sense of joy and connection. Its recognizability also makes it an excellent teaching tool for discussing how composers maintain melodic clarity across different ensemble voicings.

• Maintaining melodic line clarity when themes migrate between instrumental families
• Executing contrasting articulation styles within a single phrase
• Responding to dramatic shape and emotional intent in contemporary film music
• Balancing ensemble texture in Grade 3 voicings with multiple independent lines