County students join in sing-song from International Space Station
Administrator | May 08, 2013 | Comments 1
Students at Pinecrest Public School were among thousands coast-to-coast who gained a new appreciation of music and technology in a live musical link-up with the International Space Station (ISS).
Astronaut Chris Hadfield and Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson collaborated between earth and space to co-write the official song for Music Monday 2013. The end-result featured Hadfield playing the song on guitar from the International Space Station, while Robertson and the Wexford Gleeks, a Toronto school choir, join him to unite in song with schools and communities across the nation.
The County students joined in the singing of I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing).
Hadfield is the first Canadian Commander of the ISS and has built rock-star status using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to connect with people around the globe.
Schools from coast-to-coast participated in the Music Monday event launched by the Coalition for Music Education in partnership with CBC Music and the Canadian Space Agency. Music Monday is an annual national event celebrating the importance of music – especially in schools. It began in 2005.
“Music opens doors and music stimulates the brain… It’s a wonderful, applicable skill that only makes you a more capable human,” said Hadfield, who is to return home next week. He told students music taught him to improvise and be creative – skills crucial to his career.
“The type of skills you develop in learning to play an instrument, with the discipline, learning to play in a group, with the harmony, and then the fundamental skills that come along with handling those things together; they’re applicable whether you’re an astronaut or really anybody trying to do anything,” he said. “So, for a lot of different reasons, I think music makes me a better astronaut.”
See more of Hadfield’s fascinating videos on the Canadian Space Agency YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/canadianspaceagency/
Visit him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AstronautChrisHadfield?ref=br_tf
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What a moment of inspiration1 They’ll remember this for the rest of their lives. Here’s to a generation that will appreciate science, creativity and improvisation in a completely new way—and not be afraid of any of them.