"From Roots to Soaring Skies" -- program notes for a cellobration of Tippet Rise, featuring two pieces written for their magical land by Reena Esmail and Dawn Avery.

The root of this program is J.S. Bach’s Suite No 1 for Solo Cello. In spending time with this Suite during the lock-down in 2020, I noticed the ingenious ways Bach takes 3 simple notes – G, B, and D – and turns them on their heads, creating 6 distinct and contrasting movements that each begin with, and bear out of, these sole notes. I had the idea that it would be fun to expand that motif and look for other pieces that use these 3 notes – or their minor counterpart (G, B-flat, D) and make a sort of “super-suite” or “mega-piece” by tying these pieces together. Of course, this generally means that I’m working in the keys of G major and g minor, and certainly not all pieces in those keys tell a cohesive (or coherent!) story when put together, but I found the end result – today’s program – compelled me.

Some insight into my new album, [in]verse: a collection of music and spoken word.

Information about Frankie and Arlen’s new call for composers, #NewJellyfor2Celli: a collaborative project with cello duos!

The evolution of a piece.

I am hopeful that if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we cannot be complacent or sweep things under the rug, but that we have to speak, and act, if we ever want to see change. (This goes for everything, from mitigating viruses to dismantling racism to improving politics to accomplishing career goals and beyond!) In the recent words of Wynton Marsalis, “Change requires imagination, courage, and dogged dedication.”

Over a month since returning from my trip, I’m still reflecting on all the lessons I learned on this particular exploration; still practicing the patience and awareness I worked on in the wild; still working daily towards being a better, more thoughtful, more selfless person than I was yesterday. A few things nature constantly reminds me of: there’s no time like the present; every moment is fleeting; you must be able to simultaneously grab onto what matters and also be able to let go; everything has it’s place in the world — things we take for granted (like insects) matter deeply; attention is central to life — and undivided attention is the greatest gift and highest honour anyone can give; resilience is a practice; and life can change in an instant.

An explanation of September Solo Cello collaboration project!

This post is meant to be a listening companion for Live from Lowville with Love, Episode 3 (premiering at www.facebook.com/ArlenHlusko), and is intended for anyone without a Facebook account who may have difficulty seeing the live comment updates. (If you would like to see the program, please visit here.)

A new livestream performance series launching on my Facebook, Saturdays at 4pm. Bite-sized performance of solo cello tunes accompanied by a conversational exploration of the music. A simple offering of my heart into our new virtual existence, and if 1 person a week finds solace in my musical offerings, I will be grateful to have had the chance to connect with that one person.