The Value of Choir to an Astronaut

We have noted a sudden uptick in the number of colleagues asking for help as they defend their art from a pernicious attack by their administration.

 

Of course, when a music educator jumps to the defense of their program, they are said to be “protecting their job.” Should they enlist the testimony of an expert in the arts, that person is “biased.”

 

Maybe the opinion of an astronaut will carry some weight.  Julie Payette has amassed a sterling set of credentials in engineering and the sciences, and just happens to have flown two shuttle missions.  Here’s what Ms. Payette has to say about the value of music in general and singing in choir specifically:

 

SCIENCE & MUSIC: "Most scientific discoveries come through creativity and innovation and looking at something that hasn't been done before. There's a rigor in music, following a score, playing several notes on a keyboard; there are fundamentals. You can't play music if you don't respect some of the rules of music, and you can't do science if you don't respect some of the rules of science, but at the same time you can push that beyond. So there's a lot more similarities than people surmise."

 

ON SINGING IN CHOIR:  "One of the questions they ask every applicant to become an astronaut was 'How in your previous life did you demonstrate you were a team player?' I answered, 'Well I've been singing in choirs for 20 years, which shows clearly I can follow direction. I sing in tune and in harmony with other people, and in tempo. I think I can be a good team player on a spaceship!"

 

Read more about the Relationship of Music to Success in Other Fields.