<p><strong>YONA: <em>Discoveries, Doorways, and Musical Superpower</em></strong></p><p><br />
Dr. Joan Thomson Kretschmer<br />
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We meet Yona at age ten, an unwanted, scorned child, discovering her unique talents and beginning to exercise her special gift, the power of music. Multi Tasker is her dramatic, magic-wielding piano teacher with his <em>Flights of Fancy</em>, a flying piano. Her new friend, Ulysses, is a ten-year old boy who finds an abandoned, dilapidated trunk and its colorful, ebullient occupant, Gene E.<br />
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Tasker arranges for them to attend The John Brook Summer Music Festival, where they live and study in the historic mansion donated by Mrs. Goodnkind, a wealthy, benevolent role model. Daily lessons include trips and exciting adventures as well as <em>Doorways to Understanding</em>, a series of entryways to learning about creativity, life, nature, the arts, and values.<br />
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The tip of the iceberg of their unique curriculum includes: Music, art, talent, generosity, fear, positive thinking, leadership, science, the beauty and complexity of Mother Nature, the Moon, alleviating suffering, good and evil.<br />
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<strong>Dr. Joan Thomson Kretschmer</strong>, Artistic Director and founder of the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, attended Smith College, graduated from Barnard College, and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology from Columbia University, where she was a Clarence Barker Fellow. A pianist and teacher, she has been a music critic for <em>The New York Post</em> and has written articles about music for <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>Opera News</em>, <em>Stagebill</em>, <em>Keynote</em>, <em>The Greenwich Time</em>, and other publications.Dr. Joan Thomson Kretschmer</p>