Best, yet not-too-expensive way to take a week-long trip to Cremona, Italy from Atlanta, GA?

I’m working on a general plan for a trip to Cremona, Italy.
I’m currently 15 years old, going to be 16 in August, and I might have some financial help from my family even if they can’t come along.
I’m hoping to be able to take this trip in the summer of 2010, possibly 2011, but I’m getting a general idea of cost right now.
I would probably stay for a week, possibly a bit longer depending on how much money I have and how much I can plan on seeing in a week without being rushed.
I understand that there is not an airport in Cremona, and that I would need to take a train there.
I would also want to fly first-class; I’d fly coach, but there’s not quite as much foot space.
I’m thinking that it would be best to fly into Milan and take a train from there…right?
I’m not quite sure what hotels are in Cremona, and am not having too much luck with finding any.
What hotels are there in Cremona?
What are restaurant prices in the range of?

I’m mainly wanting to go to Cremona to study stringed instruments, specifically violin, since I am an orchestra student(I play violin). Since it would be mainly for educational reasons, would there be any discounts that I could apply for/be elligible for? Or even tax deductions?

Thanks for your information!
Also, are there very many English-speakers in those parts of Italy, if any at all? If not, are there organizations that employ translators to accompany people while they are in Italy? Or even any good books/CDs/software to learn Italian?
restaurant discounts in atlanta.

conley39:Cremona isn’t the most popular destination here, but it is an interesting town to visit – especially with your background in stringed instruments. There are a number of luthiers in town. It’s not far from where I live in Emilia Romagna.

I would either fly into Verona or Brescia rather than one of Milan’s three airports although Milan isn’t a bad choice if you get a better deal on a flight there. You can take the train to Cremona from any of them. There are buses from the airport to the train station from any of the airports. You can find current train schedules and prices here: http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=3fdbe14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD

For hotels, you can check this site: http://www.venere.com/ . I’ve been using it here for the past ten years with no problems. The Cremona page is here: http://www.venere.com/italy/cremona/

There are a range of restaurants. In Cremona, you’ll be able to eat very well for around 25 to 30 euro per day – you could spend a lot more though.

There are some people that speak English about everywhere you go here, but there are a lot of people that don’t – especially in the smaller towns. You might try programs like Rosetta Stone for learning some Italian before you come. There are also some on-line courses with the basics. The BBC has one. http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/

First class air will be very expensive – this is probably the best place to start shaving down the overall cost of the trip.