This Saturday, the Davenport Pops Orchestra, or DPops, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a “Wicked”-themed concert in Woolsey Hall. 

In addition to performing songs from the musical, the concert is set to feature student-arranged pieces from “Les Miserables” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” The group is expecting a significant alumni turnout for the event, with the group’s first-ever conductor returning to conduct “Africa” by Toto at the concert.

“The vibe is very unserious — you get to break some rules of what a concert looks like. Are you supposed to sit there, completely still and not say anything?” said DPops co-president Kira Tang ’27. “That’s not the point, the point is to have fun and invite your friends, it feels like a party.”

DPops’ specialty as an orchestra is its focus on pop songs, including music from films, musicals and even video games. 

This fall, for their “DPops To Go” concert in the Davenport Dining Hall, they performed pop hits from the summer, including Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO,” after which the event was named. 

“DPops felt full of life and love for music but also love for being a bit unserious, while also having this appreciation for music itself and the technicality of it,” said co-president Genevieve Kim ’26. “We call it DPops spirit, and it’s just this joy of existing in this space where we can all make music together that we love.”

For Kim, who plays the trumpet, DPops is a creative outlet and allows her to explore something completely unrelated to her career trajectory. She described her excitement about the possibility of joining the orchestra even before arriving at Yale. 

Additionally, Kim said that DPops has allowed her to share her love of orchestral music with friends who are unfamiliar with classical music.

“It’s this great way to be able to connect your joy in a space of music with someone else who might not be accustomed to that joy but definitely can tap into that when you are performing a song that they love already and also can recognize,” said Kim. 

When the planning committee set out to select pieces for the upcoming concert, they realized that many of the pieces shared a “witchy” motif, said Tang. This guided them to the theme of “Wicked,” especially given the re-popularization of the musical due to the recent movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. 

The medley that DPops will be performing from the musical is an arrangement from the group’s archives. Kim said that the group was excited to perform the piece for alumni. 

“I love that there’s both a piece of music that has been so beloved for so long and also a group of people who have loved this music that is persistent but has also had a recent resurgence,” said Kim.

In efforts to increase youth engagement in orchestral music, particularly through pop music, DPops is inviting children and their families from New Haven to Saturday’s concert.

Over the days leading up to the concert, DPops members have posted fliers around New Haven and sent emails to local public schools to advertise the event. 

“As a musician, there is so much emphasis on the canon, as in pieces that everyone should know or play within classical music,” said Tang. “While that’s great, there’s something really nice and accessible about pop.”

Tang, a cellist, highlighted DPops’ emphasis on student-arranged pieces as a factor that drew her to join the group. The composition process is led by two head arrangers and one assistant, who also mentor other group members interested in learning to arrange music. 

Tang began arranging music for her friends in high school and was excited to continue this in college. 

In addition to student-composed pieces, the orchestra is also conducted by a student. This year, DPops is conducted by Mitchell Dubin. According to Dubin, this facet of Dpops distinguishes the group from Glee Club, Yale Band and YSO, which are all led by professional conductors. 

“My role as a conductor is to provide feedback throughout the arranging process — I like to be as hands on and involved as appropriate,” said Dubin. “My job ultimately when it comes to arranging is to make sure that the thing we present to the orchestra is a mix of challenging, interesting and fun.”

The “DPops Defies Gravity” concert will be held in Woolsey Hall at 3 p.m. on March 1.