Christmas at the Foot of a Volcano
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Christmas at the Foot of a Volcano

My wife and I have gotten to know the local Catholic community of Sacred Heart, Na’alehu. This rural community gathers together the whole range of Hawaiians including those from indigenous heritage to those whose families originate from the US, Europe, Japan, China and the nations of Polynesia. The author James Joyce once described the Catholic…

Lava Trees – Courage and Stamina
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Lava Trees – Courage and Stamina

The Tour To compose music about volcanos, I need a crash-course in volcanology. This is Dr. Don Swanson from the US Geological Survey, my “go-to guy” for all geological things during my artist-in-residence with the National Parks Arts Foundation. Today, Don led me on a tour of the Hawai’i Volcanos National Park, trying to get…

Turtles, Twain, and a Composer
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Turtles, Twain, and a Composer

In the blur of jet lag from New York to Hawaii, I met some of my new neighbors. These sea turtles come to the Punalu’u to lay their eggs. This black sand beach is just down the road from Waiohinu and Na’alehu, my home for the next month as Artist in Residence for the National…

Big Worlds in Small Places
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Big Worlds in Small Places

  Every year for the last four, I have taught Humanities to college students for a month in El Sauce. I have lived in a variety of hotels and apartments but, regardless of the accommodations, El Sauce makes me feel at home year after year. El Sauce is a small place that has welcomed me…