Volcanoes from Heliotrope by Julie Vallimont

Noah and I were in Hawaii when the COVID-19 pandemic started, and we visited the otherworldly lava flows of Volcanoes National Park. While he was out exploring, this tune came to me. Being surrounded by geology in action, the Earth reminding us that it is constantly changing even after millenia, was a fitting backdrop to the unavoidable sense that the pandemic would bring change for all of us.

Julie Vallimont is, above all, a collaborator. Whether she is playing piano and accordion for dances, teaching burgeoning musicians, assembling players to bring to life an album of her original music, or creating multimedia visual art, Julie’s work aims to connect with people and draw out the best in them.