artist Arlene Paculan

Arlene Paculan's love for creating music originated from the time she picked up her pink plastic toy guitar and started singing a song she had made up for her mother - where she promised to buy her a diamond ring.  Mom is still waiting for it. 

Her experience with the ivory keys started at the age of 6.  She wasn't too fond of practicing piano and her teacher wasn't too fond of her lack of practice.  However, having finished Grade 7 with the RCM, Arlene's mother decided to stop her lessons - and it was from that moment when Arlene found her love for the piano.  She was playing modern songs, improvising endlessly, and creating music on the very instrument she hardly touched while taking lessons.  She loved every minute of those many hours she spent on that Baldwin piano, while belting out her favourite tunes.  She still does.  Now she belts her own tunes.  Available on iTunes.

Playing the piano led her to develop her voice under the professional guidance of renowned soprano, Eleanor Calbes, and Musical Director, Jeffrey Huard, who has been responsible for the success of several Toronto productions.  Arlene's dedication enabled her to learn playing guitar on her own by drawing inspiration from bands like Our Lady Peace, Moist, and No Doubt. 

Being inflluenced by amazing 90s alternative rock bands, you wouldn't believe that her radio was tuned to rock stations when you hear her music.  She started writing during highschool - prime teen angst years - and came up with melodies that were best suited for adult contemporary listeners with similar content many alt-rock bands sang about.

For a couple, Arlene put her songwriting on pause and decided to dive into musical theatre.  She graduated from Randolph Academy in 2004 and since then, Arlene was cast in a number of theatre productions. Selected credits include: Romeo & Juliet as Juliet, Oliver as Nancy, Grease as Rizzo, Our Country’s Good as Liz Morden, Peter Pan as Tiger Lily, and Oklahoma as Laurey.  She has graced many stages in the GTA including the Living Arts Centre, The Rose Theatre, Isabel Bader Theatre, Theatre Passe Murraile, and Factory Theatre.

While acting, singing, and dancing on and off the stage for the past 10 years, Arlene has also been fostering her talents for something greater. Her dream of performing her own music has culminated into a budding singer-songwriter career. Using life as a guide and foundation for her songs, Arlene's performances find a way to speak to everyone in the audience through her style; a combination of folk, jazz and blues combined with her natural ability to unearth the depths of human emotion while always injecting the ‘Arlene humour’ into her performances. She attributes her style to the influential artists she grew up listening to such as Chantal Kreviazuk, Jewel, Alanis Morissette and Raine Maida.  All her hard work paid off this year with the release of her EP album “I’m Worth It” (2010).

With all the above under her belt, you’d think she would slow down, but the reality is that Arlene Paculan has just begun. Be forewarned that listening to her comes with a price: she will affect you and you won't be able to forget her.