Music has been a part of human spaceflight since Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford used smuggled instruments aboard Apollo 7 to play "Jingle Bells." Chris Hadfield is arguably more famous for his cover of "Space Oddity" from the International Space Station than for being an astronaut. This week, as part of the Polaris Dawn mission, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis participated in the first spacewalk with a commercial crew. She then followed it up with the first violin solo in space.
On Friday, September 13, 2024 Polaris Dawn Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis, an accomplished musician and SpaceX engineer-turned-astronaut, performed "Rey's Theme" by composer John Williams on her custom-made violin while in orbit aboard the Dragon spacecraft, launching her campaign to raise support for music education back on Earth. Her music selection, fittingly, was a piece from the film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Gillis was joined in performance by youth musicians from around the world, all of them students in the international El Sistema network of organizations, specifically: the inaugural El Sistema program in Venezuela, The Boston String Academy in the United States, NEOJIBA in Brazil, Dream Orchestra in Sweden, Brass for Africa in Uganda, and BLUME Haiti.\
Whatever your thoughts are on private spaceflight, this is a thing of beauty: people from around the world playing music from Star Wars together with an astronaut in space.
About the collaboration, Gillis said:
Music has been a defining force in my life, thanks to the unwavering support of both my parents," said Polaris Dawn Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis. "My mother, a music teacher, championed my classical training on the violin, which has helped shape me into the engineer and astronaut I am today. The discipline, work ethic, and creativity fostered through music set me on the path that led to this extraordinary adventure into space. I've chosen to support El Sistema USA because they believe every child deserves access to the transformative power of music education, regardless of circumstance. If my performance moved you, I encourage you to make a donation to El Sistema USA, an organization that continues to inspire me every day."
El Sistema believes all children should have access to high-quality music education. Donations can be made at https://elsistemausa.org/support-el-sistema-usa-pd/
Previously: SpaceX Polaris Dawn is a historic and risky mission
