It might seem incredible, but planetary puppets that sing and teach kids about the solar system have attracted over two million views on an online series called “Meet the Planets.” No kidding! The entertaining and information-packed program is the brainchild of local composer, bassoonist, puppeteer, voiceover artist, and video maven Nicole Buetti. (Read ArtsWatch’s 2021 profile of Buetti and her work with puppets, planets, Nirks and more.)

Earlier this year, she received a Telly Award in the category of Children’s Online Programming for her unique blending of music and science. Established in 1979, the Telly Awards, recognizes outstanding work in video and television across all screens. This year’s Telly Awards attracted over 13,000 entries from across the nation and five continents. They were judged by 200 experts drawn from advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks, and Buetti was notified of her award in June. 

For Buetti, who has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, writing children’s music began in 2008 when she was living and working in Los Angeles as a composer. 

“I did a lot of scores for small film projects, movie, and TV advertising,” said Buetti over a Zoom call. “My composer friend, Dirk Montapert, and I started Goes to Eleven Media, and we got into writing for theme parks. We wrote a lot of scary music for haunted houses. We did that for Knott’s Berry Farm, which becomes Knott’s Scary Farm for Halloween and Canada’s Wonderland amusement park, which is near Toronto.”

But during a dinner conversation, friends told her that the Halloween music was too scary for kids. They encouraged her to write songs that weren’t so frightening. That led to her first album, “My Halloween.” Along the way, Buetti and Montapert combined their first names to create the Nirks, a group of hand puppets, and Nicole started doing the voice for each one.

“We did more kids’ songs and holiday albums, but they didn’t get all that much viewership on YouTube,” said Buetti. “My dad, who was kind of frustrated with me, said that we should start doing songs that teach kids something. ‘Do a song about planets!’ This was several years later when I had moved back to Colorado. I put together a Kickstarter campaign to help me fund a new album with the Nirks characters. The first song was called “Meet the Planets.” I made the song and the puppets for it and put it on YouTube and it went viral. It got millions of views. The kids loved outer space. I tried trains and geometry and other things, but the kids went for outer space.”

Since childhood, Buetti has had a special interest in astronomy that came from her father. 

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“My dad was a physicist,” explained Buetti.  “He got his Master’s in Physics at MIT (Massachusets Institute of Technology) and taught physics at West Point.  He loved astronomy, space, and sci-fi.  He also worked on the Star Wars planetary defense system and several other classified projects having to do with space technology.”

So, the stars aligned in 2022, when Buetti decided to make a song for each planet in our solar system. She created eight songs and entitled the series “Meet the Planets.” But that wasn’t all, because she then expanded her intergalactic palette with songs about the moon, asteroids, planets with rings, black holes, and dwarf planets. 

“I usually have a new song or a new video every month,” said Buetti. “Sometimes twice a month. In October I wrote three in a row. ‘Meet the Undead Stars’ and ‘Blood Moon’ for Halloween, plus a song about neutron stars.” 

To create the scores, Buetti uses Finale software and generates the soundscape on a computer that uses MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). The only live sound is her voice for the songs. For the videos, she uses Final Cut Pro software. 

The entire enterprise is a labor of love for Buetti, and she has spent an untold number of hours designing and creating puppets for each song. Her leading Nirk, Vincent, is an adorable cyclops, who often introduces the songs. 

Vincent and his companions have been a hit – the website has 13,000 followers and has been viewed 13 million times.

“The Nirks website is free, but we get ad revenue from YouTube,” said Buetti, “which is just enough for me to keep doing it. We sell little Vincent dolls, and we do customized birthday videos where Vincent will sing Happy Birthday. The income allows me to buy puppet supplies and video equipment. All that stuff has taken over our front room. I have a green screen that I set up… with lighting and everything.”

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Starting with an idea for a song and ending with a polished video that is worthy of adding to the website has been a rewarding experience for Buetti, because it connects with children.

“With the kids’ stuff, I feel like I’m reaching people,” said Buetti. “It makes kids happy, and it makes me happy too. So I want to do it more. It helps kids to learn about science. Some kids do their own research and ask me to put information about a particular star into a song. Some of these kids are seven years old and giving me good, scientific information. It’s great because it gives me more ideas.”

Then there’s the fan mail.

“Sometimes there’s 30 or 40 emails every week,” said Buetti. “They are from all over the world. I try to respond every week or so.”

“We had a ‘name your moons’ challenge where the series teaches the kids the moons around each planet,” added Buetti. “I received an email from the father of a boy in India. His kid had gotten into the India book of world records because he was the fastest one to name all of the moons in the solar system, and our songs helped him to do that. It’s pretty cool to hear from people around the globe.”

Compositions for adults

In addition to her songs for kids, Buetti also composes music for adults. Her works have been performed by many ensembles, including the Vancouver Symphony, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, the former Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra (now Orchestra Nova Northwest), Symphony Tacoma, and Big Horn Brass. 

Earlier this year, the Washington State Music Teachers Association named Buetti as its 2025 Commissioned Composer, and she is writing a new work for the association’s annual meeting next year. With this award Buetti joins a select crowd that includes luminaries like Alan Hovhaness (1985) and Tomas Svoboda (1986).

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Buetti is also part of a cohort of musician-composers who have received the Inaugural Music Fellowship at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Otis, Oregon, where, next April, they will co-create and record new compositions.  

Teaching and performing

When she is not composing music, creating puppets, and making videos, Buetti teaches bassoon and contrabassoon in her private studio at her home in Vancouver, which she shares with her husband Jason Gunderson, who is on the staff of Monette Trumpets. She also teaches music at Willamette University, the University of Portland, and Clark College. 

Yet it doesn’t stop there. She also plays contrabassoon for the Vancouver Symphony, Orchestra Nova Northwest, and the Oregon Coast Music Festival, and is the principal bassoonist for the Portland Choir Orchestra. 

One would think that Buetti consumes multiple cups of joe to get through her day, but it turns out that she doesn’t drink coffee at all. “Coffee gives me the shakes,” she noted. 

It’s the music making that keeps her energized.

“I don’t sleep very much,” wrote Buetti in an email.  “The energy seems to wax and wane.  I usually have to remind myself that the videos are going to make lots of kids happy and that gives me an extra boost when I’m tired. The energy for composing always comes at very random (sometimes inopportune) times.  When the inspiration strikes though, the excitement of having an idea keeps me energized. I’ve always been the type of person that needs to be doing something most of the time.  I’m not very good at sitting still.  I do desperately need a vacation though.”

Upcoming performances

There are several opportunities coming up to hear Nicole Buetti’s compositions performed live, including a world premiere in January.

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• 3 pm, December 15th, 2024
  Willamette Falls Symphony presents a Family Concert featuring Buetti’s “Spirit of Wind and Water.” Oregon City United Methodist, 18955 South End Road, Oregon City.
• 7 pm, January 31, 2025
  The Oregon Mandolin Orchestra presents the world premiere of Buetti’s “Dance of the Rain.” Walter’s Arts Center, 527 E Main St., Hillsboro.
• 3 pm, March 2nd, 2025
  The Tualatin Valley Symphony presents a Family Concert featuring Casey Bozell performing Buetti’s “Quasar – Elegy for Violin/Viola and Orchestra.” OMSI, 1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland.​