Christopher Cook is a recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious undergraduate science scholarships in the country.
When drum major Christopher Cook takes the field to lead the SMU Mustang Band at halftime, he begins with a cartwheel and dance moves. You might not expect the showman to be one of the top undergraduate science scholars in the country.
“Music, obviously, by nature, it’s going to be very creative,” Cook said. “But it’s also analytical. I mean, you’re reading music off a sheet.”
Cook is a physics major at SMU who was recently awarded the Goldwater Scholarship. He was the only recipient in Texas to receive the scholarship for physics.
“It’s like I’m doing something right,” Cook said.
While Cook is clearly a standout academic, he is far from the only STEM major in the Mustang Band.
“The band right now is sitting at about 40 percent or so in the STEM courses or STEM majors and about the same number in music,” SMU Mustang Band Director Charles Aguillon said. “It’s not that the smart kids choose music. Music has made them smarter.”
Studies have shown a correlation between music and math, with fractions and patterns used to create melody and rhythm.
“I think science is more creative thinking than you would imagine, and also music is more analytical thinking than you can imagine,” Cook said. “I think there’s a lot more, I guess overlap, between the way I think in the two fields than most people would think.”
Aguillon said the diverse SMU Mustang Band reflects the campus. Every member of the band receives scholarship money to perform, which he says is an incentive that resonates with students.
SMU will play its final home game of the football season this weekend at Gerald Ford Stadium.