Music at Grace Farms | Arlen Hlusko, cello

Canadian cellist and Grace Farms Artist-in-Residence Arlen Hlusko presents a winter recital, “InCommon Folk,”  inspired by the idea of community music. Developed for Grace Farms, this one-of-a-kind program offers an exploration into how music responds to the trials and tribulations of life, and helps bring people together in community.

With music spanning Appalachian folk songs, German hymns, jazz standards, and thoughtful improvisations, this moving program weaves familiar tunes with pieces not yet heard— and old favorites shared in surprising new ways. At the heart of the evening is the world premiere of Wilton Songs, a new three-movement suite for solo cello by Pulitzer Prize finalist Timo Andres, commissioned by Grace Farms and written for Hlusko.

Program

Traditional, arr Frankie Carr: Improvisation on Little Birdie
Mark Summer: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
*Timo Andres: Wilton Songs

1. Frankie and Johnny
2. Poor Stranger
3. Ten Thousand Miles

Traditional/Charles A Tindley, arr Kenji Bunch: We Shall Overcome

Meredith Monk: Cello Talk
Paul V Cortez: Lotus Petals Unfolding
*Traditional, arr Frankie Carr: Scarborough Fair
*Irving Berlin, arr Arlen Hlusko: Blue Skies
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: Lamentations: Black/Folk Song Suite
III. Calvary Ostinato

Traditional, arr Arlen Hlusko: Shenandoah
George Crumb: Sonata for Solo Cello

1. Fantasia
2. Tema pastorale con variazioni
3. Toccata

—intermission—

Zoltán Kodály: Solo Sonata for Cello, Op 8
I. Allegro maestoso ma appassionato
Andrea Casarrubios: SEVEN
*Woody Guthrie, arr Frankie Carr: This Land

*world premiere

(75 min performance, 15 min intermission)

About Arlen Hlusko

Hailed for her “sublime cello prowess” (Take Effect), “absorbing originality” (Gramophone), and “mesmerizing beauty” (NY Music Daily), internationally acclaimed Canadian cellist Arlen Hlusko is a dynamic artist who has performed as soloist and chamber musician across North & South Americas, Asia, and Europe. She is “capable of playing with great delicacy but also fearlessness; regardless of the character of the material, she executes it with authority and conviction […] and open-hearted expression is present throughout” (Textura). Cellist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars sextet (extolled by the New York Times for “combining the power and punch of a rock band with the precision and clarity of a chamber ensemble”), Arlen regularly performs with other ensembles, including Manhattan Chamber Players, The Knights, and Dolce Suono Ensemble, and is a member of the Harry Chapin Band and recent alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect.

In 2025-6, she will be the inaugural musician “Artist-in-Residence” at Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT. Interested in a wide array of music, she has collaborated closely with artists from Jordi Savall to Midori to Meredith Monk to David Byrne, and is a Grammy-award winner for her collaboration with The Crossing, as well as a laureate of several competitions. Arlen has been featured on CBC’s “30 Under 30,” and is a Larsen Artist. She has debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic, among others, and has been invited to several pre-eminent chamber music festivals, including Spoleto USA, Tippet Rise, Bay Chamber Concerts, and Music from Angel Fire. Committed to using her music to connect with and serve her community, Arlen founded her own interactive chamber music concert series, Philadelphia Performances for Autism, and is involved with numerous communities, including Carnegie Hall’s “Musical Connections” at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.