Philly Feline Purr-fers Disklavier
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Betsy Alexander, a Philadelphia-based music teacher and composer, dreamed of having a highly-calibrated piano that would serve all of her teaching and composing needs. After exploring several brands and models, she selected the Yamaha Disklavier® because of its advanced technology and superior functionality.
Then, she adopted a stray grey tabby cat, Nora, who loved the Disklavier as much as Alexander. Nora, it turns out, possessed a knack for tickling the ivories and the discriminating taste for Yamaha. After Alexander posted a home-made video on the popular Internet site YouTube.com to show off Nora's artistry to out-of-town relatives, animal lovers and music aficionados elevated Nora the piano playing cat into an international celebrity.
And this discerning feline won't just play any of the pianos in Alexander's studio. "Nora will always go to the Disklavier," she notes. "It might be that the resonances are higher and brighter," she speculates. "Perhaps she can hear a greater range of harmonics than we can."
Posted in January, 2007, the video, entitled "Practice Makes Purr-fect," has been viewed more than 4.5 million times. Fan mail has poured in from Europe, Malaysia, Lebanon, Israel, China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. She has been profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Times of London and The Sydney Morning Herald and been featured on CNN, Inside Edition, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, National Public Radio, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and the Japanese late night program, Unbelievable.
The story doesn't end there. In addition to an upcoming book deal, Nora's premiere CD, Cat on the Keys was released. Available at www.petcds.com, it contains 11 cat-themed songs by Skip Haynes and Dana Walden. "Nora's Song," the featured track, uses Nora's actual piano sounds combined with a jazz band and vocal accompaniment.
Though Nora has received gifts from admirers like Billy Joel and Martha Stewart, and is riding high on the success of her long-awaited YouTube sequel, life at the Alexander home is not all about her. Nora shares her home with five other cats, Alexander and her husband, visual artist Burnell Yow! Alexander has been a highly-recommended piano teacher for over 20 years.
Alexander also expresses herself through her acclaimed musical theatre compositions, including Another Kind of Hero, a musical based on the life of Raoul Wallenberg and Anne Frank: A Voice Heard, commissioned by American Theatre Arts for Youth. Her most recent work, a musical adapted from the famous play I Never Saw Another Butterfly, will be published by the Dramatic Publishing Company this fall.
"Of all of the pianos I researched, the Disklavier was the best of the disk systems," she says. "It has every top function you can imagine. I just have to pop in a disk to know that I'm capturing my ideas. It's also been an incredible tool for my students. They can hear their errors and make improvements. Mostly, it makes them so excited to hear their own playing."
As for Nora, "You can't teach cats to do things like you can a dog," says Alexander. "I cannot take credit for any of this. Nora did it all herself."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
 Just like Felix and Morris, Nora is the latest cat to take her place in the pantheon of fascinating pop culture felines. Photo Credit: Burnell Yow! |
And this discerning feline won't just play any of the pianos in Alexander's studio. "Nora will always go to the Disklavier," she notes. "It might be that the resonances are higher and brighter," she speculates. "Perhaps she can hear a greater range of harmonics than we can."
Posted in January, 2007, the video, entitled "Practice Makes Purr-fect," has been viewed more than 4.5 million times. Fan mail has poured in from Europe, Malaysia, Lebanon, Israel, China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. She has been profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Times of London and The Sydney Morning Herald and been featured on CNN, Inside Edition, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, National Public Radio, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and the Japanese late night program, Unbelievable.
The story doesn't end there. In addition to an upcoming book deal, Nora's premiere CD, Cat on the Keys was released. Available at www.petcds.com, it contains 11 cat-themed songs by Skip Haynes and Dana Walden. "Nora's Song," the featured track, uses Nora's actual piano sounds combined with a jazz band and vocal accompaniment.
Though Nora has received gifts from admirers like Billy Joel and Martha Stewart, and is riding high on the success of her long-awaited YouTube sequel, life at the Alexander home is not all about her. Nora shares her home with five other cats, Alexander and her husband, visual artist Burnell Yow! Alexander has been a highly-recommended piano teacher for over 20 years.
Alexander also expresses herself through her acclaimed musical theatre compositions, including Another Kind of Hero, a musical based on the life of Raoul Wallenberg and Anne Frank: A Voice Heard, commissioned by American Theatre Arts for Youth. Her most recent work, a musical adapted from the famous play I Never Saw Another Butterfly, will be published by the Dramatic Publishing Company this fall.
"Of all of the pianos I researched, the Disklavier was the best of the disk systems," she says. "It has every top function you can imagine. I just have to pop in a disk to know that I'm capturing my ideas. It's also been an incredible tool for my students. They can hear their errors and make improvements. Mostly, it makes them so excited to hear their own playing."
As for Nora, "You can't teach cats to do things like you can a dog," says Alexander. "I cannot take credit for any of this. Nora did it all herself."
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.