“Give yourself PERMISSION to spend time doing what you LOVE”
Valerie Leigh Sim
Valerie is an Associate Professor Neurology at the University of Alberta in Canada, my fiddling mate since I was six and her and I ‘waltzed’ in front of thousands while fiddling as we grew up. So many stories!
A prion specialist by day, Valerie performs as much (or more) on her violin that a lot of career musicians and is an inspiration for me in how she creates community and allows her passion for music to thrive while balancing an entirely different career. A few examples: She performs with Orchestra Borealis, the Metropolitan Orchestra (of Edmonton, Alberta), La Folia Ensemble, has a TEDx Talk, and oh yeah, her fiddling band the “Crested Hens'“
We had an amazing chat exploring what it means to be a woman in both fields, how she weaves together her life, the decisions she had to make along the way, and a fun segment where she takes what she learned from her violin and how it applies to her life now. Excited to open this one up! Valerie’s eagerness to ask questions and to push boundaries is something that I’ve grown just having her in my life.
More about Valerie here