I am twelve-years-old. My birthday is in September. I have been playing pretty much every day since I was one-year-old. Pretty amazing, eh? The video above was recorded by my purrsonal assistants on October 12, 2016. I hope you will enjoy it, share it, and will subscribe to my YouTube channel, as well as “Like” my Facebook page at: http://facebook.com/norathepianocatpage
Love,
Nora
Adoption saves lives, which is why I am so delighted to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Petfinder.com and their marvelous work of bringing together human beings and those of us with slightly more fur. And you can celebrate with us by sharing your own adoption story with the #MetOnPetfinder hashtag, and by watching the video at http://bit.ly/2coWBaa. The great news is that Petfinder is donating $250,000 to the Petfinder Foundation to support 25 shelters and rescues after reaching its goal of 1.25 million video views. It’s a cute video, so you should keep watching and sharing.
And now here’s my adoption story: That’s Burnell holding me in the photo (something I’m barely tolerating). He’s the guy who, along with his wife, adopted me from a shelter almost twelve years ago. My introduction biography at the shelter claimed I was “BOSSY,” but, fortunately for me, that’s exactly the type of cat that Burnell and Betsy were looking for. They adopted me and gave me my forever home. After a year or so, I began playing the piano, and Burnell and Betsy accepted the job of being my purrsonal assistants. My videos soon went viral and I became an Internet celebrity. And while not all cats can play the piano, we all need a loving home. #MetOnPetfinder #sponsored
And Team Nora has risen to the occasion with not only buttons, but bumper stickers as well. Various styles and button sizes available. You can get yours at https://norathepianocat.com/shop/t-shirts-more/ or go straight to Nora’s area on Zazzle
I have one myself, and I have to say it was very cool the first time B & B were away and they used the app on the iPhone to turn on and connect to the Petcube. First I heard their voices calling my name, then I saw the laser dot moving on the oriental rug surrounding my piano. Play time! No, not the piano, but a game of catch-the-dot even though they were over a hundred miles away at the time. After a while, I understood that the little silver cube was somehow connected to the voices and the red dot. So, when I heard it come on, I’d immediately run to it and wait for the game to begin. That’s how smart I am. And you thought I was just a pretty face with piano skills!
Love,
Nora The Piano Cat
Just 93 days left to create your Nora-inspired art, photograph it and enter the image in the contest. Click the image above for more info or to enter now.
To get to the place where the photo above would become a reality, much had to happen. It all began a long time ago, well, it was actually 2009, when a Lithuaian conductor of the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra was sent a link to a very famous video of a cat playing the piano. That conductor was Mindaugas Piecaitis. The cat, in case you haven’t already guessed, was me. Maestro Piecaitis is a brilliant human being, obviously, who saw the potential in the piano stylings of moi. And he set about composing a concerto inspired by those stylings. The result was a beautiful piece of music titled CATcerto. Clever, eh?
The piece was premiered in 2009 by the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra with Maestro Piecaitis at the podium and me, as guest soloist, projected onto a large screen behind the musicians. It was a rousing success and was eventually published by Peter’s Publishing. To date, CATcerto has been performed 20 times by orchestras around the world. It even made it into the Guiness Book as the first concerto ever written for a cat.
Then in late 2012, Maestro and muse (that’s me) met for the very first time when Mindaugas flew to the United States and spent several days with me, my siblings, and my purrsonal assistants, Burnell and Betsy. It was during the very first moments of that meeting that Burnell took the now famous photo of our paws touching on the piano bench.
Maestro Piecaitis was heard to remark, “I feel I must be dreaming.” Truth be told, it was I who was humbled by his presence. A gray tabby rescued from the streets of Camden, New Jersey only to one day touch paws with the Maestro from halfway around the world. Of such things are not dreams made?
•••••••••••••••••••
You can watch the video that Mindaugas Piecaitis was inspired by HERE.
And click HERE to watch CATcerto.
Orchestras who may wish to perform the piece should contact Peter’s Publishing for the sheet music and the DVD for the projection.
There are two pianos in my home. One is essentially mine. That’s the shiny, black Yamaha Grand. The other is the one the students play on most of the time. That one is a Briggs piano. It’s the one I’m posing on in the above photograph taken by my photographer/purrsonal assistant, Burnell. Normally, I would insist on posing only on the shiny, black Yamaha Grand, but when Burnell suggested trying the Briggs for a shot, I thought why not. After all, I have a reputation for being rather adventurous. And I think the brown of the Briggs actually compliments my fur quite nicely. Woulldn’t you agree.
Have you seen the interactive Petcube Camera yet! Well I just got one and it’s pretty cool. My purrsonal assistants have already set it up and have interacted with me using the built-in microphone and speaker and have played with me using the remotely controlled laser, which is controlled from your smartphone using the free Petcube app. And all of this while a hundred miles away. How cool is that? If you’d like to know more, and if you have pets who are sometimes home alone, please click the image above to go to their website. And get $50 off until March 27th. Use code SPRING50 at checkout. See you on Petcube Camera.
Love,
Nora
Here I am with one of my purrsonal assistants. His name is Burnell Yow! and he’s an mixed media artist and a musician. He’s also my chief photographer and videographer. I dictate all my posts to him. He’s just better at typing than I am.
We all know how important art and music are in making the world a better place for all creatures, great and small. I’ve certainly tried to do my part and, in doing, I’ve collaborated with some amazing humans along the way. One of them is my purrsonal assistant, Betsy Alexander. In addition to providing me with a loving home, a piano, and plenty of encouragement, she is also a marvelous composer with a big heart when it comes to empathy and concern for others.
So it was quite natural for her to be moved by a recent project by a friend of hers, artist Meg Saligman, who has created an interactive installation called “Mary, Undoer of Knots” in honor of the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia. And when Betsy is moved, inspiration and action soon follow, this time resulting in the song, Help Us Mary, which is delighting and even moving to tears all who hear it.
A demo recording of the song with words and music by BetsyAlexander, vocals by Donnie Hammond, and produced by Dan Martin can be heard on Betsy’s website at <http://betsyswonderfulthings.com>.
More info about Meg Saligman’s project “Mary, Undoer of Knots.”
Nora The Piano Cat