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Snapshot: Wendy Musk

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Occupation: I am the dean of the middle school at Fraser Woods Montessori School, and the head of humanities and theater arts. I'm an author and a flutist, as well. Right now, I'm finishing a fictionalized memoir of my life as a classical musician in New York City, peppered with famous names of people I knew then. It's also the story of a mother and three children, and how important education is. I have a degree in performance and a degree in education. I left the classical music world when I had children to devote myself to educating children. It's the opportunity to influence the best in them.

Family: My husband, Richard, is a composer. My daughter, Daria, is a singer/songwriter/producer and an international online celebrity. She was the first musician to break globally online. She does a lot of touring, and writes all the songs for the Fraser Woods Shakespeare productions. My husband composes the music for them. My youngest son, Sage, is a screenwriter, and my oldest son, Evan, is a video game concept creator. He is one of the creators of Vainglory. He travels all over the world. He's married to Ann, who is a Google designer.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We've lived here 20 years now.

What do you like to do in your free time? In my free time, I write, I practice flute and piano, and I exercise. I have my "master mind" sessions with my family and try to have dinner together when everyone's around. I love painting, but I just don't have time to do it. We do a lot of hiking in Huntingtown State Park.

Do you have a favorite musician? My favorite classical musician is Johann Sebastian Bach. The music is developmental, contrapuntal, intellectually fascinating, and emotionally rich. He captures everything.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? My favorite destination is California, to see my older son and his wife, and to visit my brother. That's where I'll finish writing my book.

What is the best thing about Newtown? For me, it's this school, Fraser Woods. It's a place that has given me complete creative freedom in terms of humanities here. I've started three programs: Global Game, a tabletop game that allows kids to feel empowered in a complex world. The goal is to create peace treaties throughout the world. The second is the Writing By Heart program, to give professional writing tools to young people and see what happens. What happens is that their writing pops off the page. The third program is the Shakespeare Repertory Company. We do two productions each year. The younger students' plays, I write myself, based on Shakespearean plays.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? The greatest influence in my life has been my children. They let me into the interior workings, day by day, of the unfolding of a human being. It's the source of my writing, my playing, and it's the source of the creative principles I teach.

I

f you could spend a day with anyone, who would you choose? My father. He's been gone many, many years. He was a brilliant man. He had a photographic memory, and was a classical music lover. He could whistle any symphony, and he would whistle along with me while I practiced. I'd ask him if he were proud of me.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is binge watching amazing series like Vinyl, Downton Abbey, and Mozart in the Jungle.

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