“One, two, three, four…”
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gave the countdown from space. And all across Canada, young musicians took flight.
With his trusty, and weightless, acoustic guitar in hand the Commander of the International Space Station led thousands of school children in a rendition of the song “Is Somebody Singing.” The tune was co-written by Hadfield and Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson for Music Monday, a yearly celebration of music education.
Back on Earth, music students simultaneously played and sang along via a live webcast feed. Students like Ottawa’s Drew-Anne Glennie, a flutist with the Henry Munro Middle School Band performing at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. “20 years ago I don’t think anybody would have imagined being able to telecom with an astronaut and then just play a piece with him,” says Glennie.
“It’s pretty cool. To watch him and how he’s playing in outer space and how everybody can see him,” adds band mate, Nick Persaud.
It was a stellar way to raise awareness of the importance of music education. “We’re facing so many different cuts in the school system. Music, the arts are usually the first thing to go,” says Henry Munro music teacher Alison Read.
In a question and answer session following the performance, Chris Hadfield spoke of his own reasons to support music education. The life-long musician says it promotes discipline, teamwork, and better brain function. “For a lot of different reasons I think music makes me a better astronaut,” he says.
That’s pretty high praise, coming from someone floating 400 km above the Earth’s surface.
