May 7, 2012 – Astronaut Chris Hadfield led a singalong from space, using his last video chat aboard the International Space Station to voice his support for music education.
Students from across Canada and beyond joined Hadfield in singing the theme song for the Music Monday campaign, ISS — Is Somebody Singing?, which he co-wrote with with Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies.
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.
Read more comments from Chris Hadfield about the value of music education
ISS — Is Somebody Singing? was commissioned by CBCMusic.ca and the Coalition for Music Education. The Coalition for Music Education is a non-profit organization that promotes the benefits of music education for young people. The group says it created Music Monday to “celebrate the galvanizing power of music and demonstrate how that power is rooted in school music programs.”
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