Carolyn Van De Velde helps a girl try a violin at the June 8 "Paint the Town" event at River Music Experience, Davenport.

A disgruntled conductor might say leading an orchestra is like herding cats. In a new partnership, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is bringing an “Instrument Petting Zoo” to Mercado on Fifth in downtown Moline, starting Friday, July 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. “The QCSO has been really doubling down on our private lesson effort and group lesson effort,” Marc Zyla, the orchestra’s director of education & community engagement, personnel manager and principal horn player, said Wednesday. The QCSO has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley, and the weekly... Read More