The Holocaust remembered through music and empowering women's entrepreneurship, innovation and career development in The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends] Empower, alleviate, inspire.

That's the goal of a women's business conference that just may help you grow as a better business leader and help you lead a better life every day.

We'll talk about that in just a moment.

But first, music that hauntingly brings back history.

It's called Violins of Hope, an international collection of violins, cellos and violas, all with one common link, the Holocaust.

This amazing assemblag of musical instruments will be part of an extensive tour in Iowa and Western Illinois, brought here in part by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities.

The executive director, Allan Ross, joined us to talk about this unique tour going on now and into the April.

So Violins of Hope is a tw month residency throughout Iowa.

How did you get this?

I mean this is such a powerful program.

And for it to be in the Qua City area, even western Illinois as well as Iowa is i is a major get, I would think.

Well, in 2019, Violins of Hope was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, through the Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne.

And the director there said, Allan, whatever you do, get Violins of Hope because it's a great project.

You get many people involved in it.

So I said, okay.

So I talked to the the owner o the project, Avshalom Weinstein, and he said, well, Allan, would like to do it but we have a big back up.

Yeah.

And because the the violins have been all over the world, have been major cities Rome, London, Paris, United States.

It was in Chicago a few years ago, New York, Los Angeles.

So it's been all over the world.

And he said, well, wait, we'll see what happens.

So two and a half years ago, I remember it exactly.

In June, he sent me an email, says, “We're ready.

You can have it in the beginning of 2026.” And I said, okay, this is two and a half years ago, 2023.

So I said, okay, great.

And so we we made an agreement and and so we're getting ready for it.

And then I get a call from Des Moines, the Des Moines Jewish Federation.

And they said, hey, we wanted to bring Violins of Hope, but you got it before us.

And I said, well, why don't we share?

And then I get a call from the Tolerance Alliance in Sioux City.

He said, we wanted to bring Violins of Hope, but you got at first.

So I said, let's share.

So for the last two and a half years, we've been preparing for the program, and initially we were supposed to get it from March 15th to April 30th.

But I got a call from Ashi last fall and said, You know what?

It's, the violins will be in Kentucky and we'll give you an extra month.

They're going to do, have it less months.

So we've had it since February 15th.

they arrived, and they're going to be here until May 1st.

Tell me a little bit about the significance of these violins, cellos and violas.

Well, there's 60 actually, we got 67 violins, one viola and one cello, and all of them were played mostly by Jews, Jewish musicians before, during and even after the Holocaust.

And many, most of them have specific history of who had them, what happened to that person, what happened to the violin.

And, so the stories are amazing.

Each one has its own story and it's it's incredible.

You know, we're sitting here in front of this violin.

Please yeah, tell me a little bit about this violin.

Okay.

This was owned by the Morpurgo family in northern Italy, and that family had been there for 500 years.

Very successful business people.

And, you know, during the 30s, the mothers knew thing were getting bad in, in Europe.

So she told her son said, and I quote, you may not become a famous violinist, but the music will help you in desperate moments of life and will widen your horizons.

Do not give up.

Sooner or later it will prove me right.

And when the Germans took over Italy, they started, goin after the Jews and purging them.

The mother was sent t Auschwitz, where she perished, and the son who played th violin was taken to a work camp.

And so from that time till the end of the war, he played his violin and survived.

And the reason was because many musicians, Jewish musicians, did survive the Holocaust, because the Nazis loved music not just to play for themselves, but they really used the Jews in a very, very fanatical, terrible way by making them play music in the concentration camps.

So when the work groups went out in the morning, there was music playing.

When they came back, the music was playing, and it was just a perverted way to, to, you know, really hurt, make the Jews feel really less than, than than dirt, so to speak.

Well, and weren't they also used in played as people were, being led to the gas chambers?

Thats right.

As a way to calm them that all is, all is well don't worry.

Yeah.

Well there was, and especially getting off in Auschwitz, there was music playing.

And then when, and the other concentration camps and death camps, they, they played the music.

So yeah.

You didn't think things were so bad and that was the whole thing.

The Nazis tried to do their best to fake out the Jews, what was going to happen with them.

But many Jews, when they, you know, they were able to pack a few belongings, many of them brought their instruments alon because they were very valuable to them.

And so those who could play were normally played, were able to play in the various bands.

I mean, Auschwitz had like a dozen different bands, including the woman's, places, a women's band as well.

So it was, a way to survive.

And many of the musicians did survive just like this.

The gentleman who owned this, he survived.

Well, we talk about an instrument like this.

And you sit you sit there and think what it has seen, when it was, in Germany or Austria or all the places that some of these instruments were, Poland as well.

You almost all want to touch it.

You almost don't want to play it.

It's such a valuable piece of history.

Why is it important that it does get out and it does get played, and it's not necessarily behind, you know, a pane of glass so that nobody can actually, you know, see it or touch it?

Well, the Weinstein family, who owns the violins and refurbishes the violins, their, their belief is that they were meant to be played and keep the music alive, keep the hope alive because music is the universal art.

And why put them behind glass?

Let's let people play them.

Because just touching something like this, especially with students, and we're trying to get to with many students as possible.

Just touching a piece of history like this is a could be a life changing experience, or a once in a lifetime opportunity to hold a piece of history like this.

So most of the instruments are playable.

There's some that are playable, and they're in exhibits throughout the Quad Cities here in the Figge, the Putnam and the German American Heritage Center.

But most of them are playable.

Well, and on the screen right now, we've got the, your website, which has, the schedule and where some of the events are.

You did mention, the German American Heritage Center, but but also Quad Cities Symphony and Balle Quad Cities are also involved.

This took a lot of plannin in order for you to get as many of these musical organizations in the Quad Citie involved in a program like this, which is so significant to so many people.

Well, I went to the Brian Baxter at the Quad City Symphony and I said, look, we have this opportunity.

Are you interested?

He said, certainly... Jumped at it.

...let's let's do it.

So a number of the they're going to have a number of, you know, musical programs coming up, with the symphony and, the ballet.

Joedy Cook, we've been working together many years on Holocaust education.

So she made, they made, new ballets.

I mean, specially for this program especially for the instruments.

And so it's it's been just a fantastic experience working with all these groups.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that it will also be featured April 19th at the 45th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Event, a remembrance event, at Saint Ambrose.

This just add something to the solemn event.

That that is.

Right.

Exactly.

And we want, we want it played.

And we want especially students to play them.

And so that's what we're working on now, that the Holocaust remembrance program to include several, at least several numbers from the violins.

It's such a powerful thing.

I mean, if I was a student, it would be something, you know, and I think in a way, one of the one of the things that I've read is that the Jewish Federation wants to make sure that this brings all people together, people of different faiths, people of different backgrounds.

It's a unifying message that you have.

Well it's music is a universal art.

And as a matter of fact, some, archeologists feel that wa the music was the first art ever where, people were singing or making noises.

So it's, it's definitely a universal, art.

And it's and that's what we're hoping to bring various groups together religious groups, ethnic groups and many different people and many different groups to be together and listen to the music.

And I was reading that the violin has actually an important aspec to Jewish culture in particular, because it represents strength and optimism.

And I just found that fascinating.

Well, violins have been long time use within Jewish communities, especially in Eastern Europe.

And violins, you know, they weren't expensive.

A lot of them, you know they weren't all Stradivarius.

They were very cheap.

So matter of fact, in, you know, 100 years ago, there were like a dollar or $2 in some places.

So many people were able to, afford them.

And they became really integrate, integrated into Jewish life, especially with the Klezmer bands that were planned.

Fiddler on the Roof, which takes place allegedly in 1905.

You had the the fiddle, the violin.

So it's been always used in a tremendous amount of Jewish music.

And many of the greatest violinists of all time have been Jewish.

You have Itzhak Perlman, right now is is one of the greatest violinists in the world.

And we've had others over the years.

So it's been and and it's been identified with, the Jewish community, it's been used by the Jewish community.

And it's a celebration often o life at bar mitzvahs, weddings.

You know, we have that there.

Violins of hope.

Once again.

It's not going to be here forever.

What do you hope is the lasting impact of it being in the Quad City area?

The lasting impact is learning about the history of the Holocaust.

And, you know, to grasp 6 million Jews slaughtered to include 1.5 million children.

How do you put your hands around that or arms around that?

But you have an individua instrument here with the history that I just mentioned, that is very significant.

And that's what's really powerful is you can identify with the person, especially a lot of the instruments were owned by young people.

So we want to certainly get it to the students, that these were played by your contemporaries, decades ago.

And we hope they learn not just the history of the Holocaust, but what are the lessons learned?

That is, to me, the biggest thing.

What are the lesson learned that we can use today?

So much bullying going on in the schools and difficulties now that we have a very divisive world, what can we do to bring people together to identify what's wrong and make things right?

So we hope this helps somewhat.

If it helps a few students, then we've, you know, we've succeeded in this.

Our thanks to Jewish Federation of the Quad Citie Executive Director, Allan Ross.

And once again, you can find out more information, including violins of Hope exhibit and tour dates at the Jewish Federation's website.

Now that's JFQC.org.

Just ahead and powering the current and next generation of business women.

But first some of the event scheduled throughout the cities.

Thanks to Visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Explore downtown Moline and hunt for eggs hidden at participating businesses.

Snap a photo and submit for a chance to win prizes.

Next, enjoy an open mic night at Milltown Coffee.

Bring your instrumen or sit back and enjoy the show.

Everyone is welcome.

Then watch a hilarious stage play based on the movie Clue.

You'll be dying of laughter the whole time.

Then grab a mic and sing your heart out.

Every Thursday at Oa Grove Tavern for karaoke night.

Finally, enjoy a kid's Easter egg hunt, play at the park, and get the chance to meet the Easter Bunny.

For more events like these check out our events calendar at VisitQuadCities.com.

It's called the premier women's leadership and business conference in the cities Glow Conference 2026 will be held Saturday, April 11th at Bally's Quad Cities in Rock Island.

Now, Glow stands for growing, leading and owning the win.

Registration deadline is April 1st.

So joining us to talk about this year's conference is Maria Contreras Huerta and Rachel Pitchford.

Well, Rachel, Maria, thank you so much for being here, I appreciate it.

Let me start with with where this came.

The theme is Stronger Together.

Tell me about the significance of that.

Yes.

So it's stronger together.

It's more than just a phrase we came up with to put on a flier.

I know it sounds very cliched, but stronger together is something that we feel very passionate about.

We believe that there is spaces, where we as women sometimes don't feel like we can be a part of.

But once we are very intentional with pouring into another woman, that's when we feel like the true, work can come in.

When we help other women, we can rise together.

So it's more than just a slogan.

It's the way that we want everyone that comes to the conference to feel like.

And it even, you know, it really is also with the keynote speaker.

Absolutely.

Got an important message for women.

She does.

And so RaVal Davis i our keynote speaker this year.

And her platform, she is actually very well known and has a tremendous resume.

She's an author.

She's a writer.

She's been feature on many platforms, even like HBO and Essence Magazine.

And, just very impressive.

But one thing that we were really intentional about, or what aligned with our mission, was how her body positivity messaging on top of, just how she really sends the message that you can show up in spaces as yourself.

So in any body, any, form fashion, you belong there.

And so just really bein intentional about that speaker.

So, you know, it was just in perfect alignment with what we have going on.

Because the Glow conference is supposed to help business women progress, but it's more than just saying, oh, this is a better way to make money.

I mean, that's what I really took away from this.

Absolutley.

This is building yourself as a better person as well as a better business person.

I agree, and so, you know we bring all parts of ourselves every day when we come into any business, any platform.

And so it really is meant t really integrate us as humans.

All those parts, because, yo know, we aren't just one thing.

Sometimes you have to be all things to all people.

And so we really wanted to connect that message and make sure that we were really speaking to your whole self.

Well, and let's be honest, an event like this, a conference like this, one of the, one of the biggest things you get is networking.

I mean, you're able to meet people that are inspirational or also are aspiring to something.

I mean, how important is that part of the whole conference?

It's very important.

We're very intentional when it comes to the time that we're dedicating for networking.

We didn't want it to be just somewhere where people show u and share their business cards, and they go hom with a stack of business cards that they're not going to use.

We don't want that.

We want real relationships.

We want people to connect with women that they're actually going to reach out to later, whether it's for mentorship or for other opportunities, opportunities that will later, help them in the long run.

So we have dedicated time for that.

We also have somebody from the small, Business Development Center that's going to be on site.

So that way they can do one on one consultations.

So that's part of it as well.

Somebody can just come in with an idea.

They've been thinking for a long time, and having the opportunity to sit down with somebody and just talk it through, that's what we're more excited about.

So an entrepreneur should attend.

Who else do you think should attend this?

Any, uh, professional that's really wanting to look at what's next for them in their career?

Any creative that's wondering what should they do?

How do they grow as a person?

Not just career wise, but we do have a speaker that's going to be focused on physical health as well.

So just it's very a well-rounded conference for everyone.

The Glow conference, the registration is by April 1st and we have that on our screen.

Your website address.

You've got some great workshops and I just wanted to I, I just we were talking earlier before we started.

One is embracing your culture in a climate of division.

Wow.

That would be important.

Absolutely.

Definitely a relevant topic right now where, you know that's a very, touchy subject, where the conversation really goes to.

Is it okay to show up as myself or to embrace my culture in professional spaces?

And so we have Daisy Ramirez, who is going to be, presenting that workshop to really show how you can use that, not as, something where it is become that touchy subject or something that is, divisive, or anything.. That's exactly it, because everyone has their own, thoughts and beliefs or whatever.

And if you're in one cubicle and somebody else in another cubicle, you know exactly what could happen.

Yeah.

And so just bringing it in as something where you can embrace that and it can be foundational and really rooted in who you are.

Well, and Maria, there's another workshop Accelerating your Business through AI.

I talk about, once again, something that is affecting all of us and cutting edge.

We don't even know what AI is going to end up doing.

Let's talk about that, that, that workshops important on so many different levels as well.

Yes, I agree, I think that one's one of the ones that I'm most excited about because I use AI at work every single day.

So we really have to adapt.

And our small businesses don't always have the opportunity to get in front of.

I like, Padmini Soni, she is the a strategist with AI, so she's going to be talking about how we can use AI in our small businesses for everyday operations and decision making, and whatever that may look lik for this small business owner.

It's it's it's interesting to me because I remember years ago, because I'm a very old person.

I remember years ago when you were talking business, you were talking, oh, how can you better use social media when that was first coming out?

And now we've really progressed that.

Yeah, people are better at social media, now, how do you use AI?

Different skill set.

Definitely.

And you said you're using it.

I mean is it one of those things that you just feel like you're on the first step of a stepping stone.

I do believe so.

There's a lot of challenges that come with AI as well.

So not losing that personal touch is one of the things that we wan to make sure that we don't do.

You also don't need to be, tech savvy to be good at using AI.

And that's part of what the workshop is also going to focus on, on how can you be good at using it without having to be an expert with IT?

What, some of the other workshop areas and some of the discussions also involve, as we were talking about a person's personality, but your own personal health, your own personal well-being.

That' also a part of this conference, because you don't want to forget your own physical health.

Yes.

And, so we have been really intentional about bringing in speakers about those topics just to, again speak to all parts of yourself, because sometimes when you're sick or you're, you know, unwell, it's hard to show up as your full self.

And so we really wante to bring in some speakers like Coy Jackson, who's going to speak, on the relationship that, the patterns that people have may have, received growing up or that information that they may have received growing up and how it impacts them today and their health decisions today.

We have, just a whole wealth of knowledge that, you know, we hope to bring and just really speak to the diversity of each and every human that, you know finds a seat in our conference.

Yeah.

But once again this is a business conference.

So the other part, of course not only your physical health, your financial health that you'r looking to grow your business.

If you're an entrepreneur, you're looking to star your business and move forward.

So the financial aspect is a big part of this conference as well.

Yes.

With, the Financial Freedom One.

We're really excited for that one.

Miriam De Dios Woodward is going to be doing our pre-conference as well.

She's going to be focusing on teaching us not only how to grow, bu protect and make the money grow, work for us.

So that's one that we'r very intentional about as well.

I work in the finance industry, so this one's really exciting for me.

I don't get to, see people often where I can spend one on one time with them as well.

And so with having Miriam there, it's going to be very exciting.

She'll have the pre-conference time, to do more one on ones at the actual conference on April 11th.

She'll have her own workshop there, too.

So it's all exciting stuff.

So this is the second year for the Glow Conference.

How did you build off the first year?

I mean, what what did you get back from the participants from last year that you thought, okay, this really worked.

This is an area that we really need to put some focus on.

So it was a lot of, learning that we did from it.

There were surveys that were sent out right after the conference.

There were workshops that people liked.

There were also, feedback on the amount of workshops that we had.

So this year was a little bit more intentional on where we wanted to spend our tim and how we wanted it structured.

So we listened to what they wanted to hear more about and grew off of that.

And what do you hope that a person that attends walks away with?

We really hope that they walk away with new friendships, a sense of community.

Whether that is a mentor, whether, that is just one piece o information that they can take that might just change the entire trajectory of whether it is their health, their career, their finances.

And if we just want you to walk away with something tangible where, you know, it can be potentially life changing and, you know, just something really great.

Our thanks to Rachel Pitchford and Maria Contreras Huerta.

And you can get more information on registration and the conference schedule by going to the website GLOWempowerment.com.

Once again, the registration deadline for the Glow conference is April 1st.

The conference will be held April 11th at Bally's Quad Cities in Rock Island.

Well, each of us might have that certain spark that drives us to contribute to the betterment of our community.

That type of civic spark helpe shape our nation 250 years ago, as America declared its independence and started to build a new nation.

Now, for the past year, we'v talked to people in the cities.

People like Moline Coal Valley School superintendent Doctor Rachel Savage asking them about their civic spark.

I wanted to be a teacher.

Ever since I was a little kid and I had the most amazing teachers, growing up, I admired what they do.

And I was a high school teacher for 14 years, and I had the blessing to have some of the most amazing educators that shaped my life.

And I wanted to continue to give back and serve schools and serve kids for the rest of my life, as long as I am able to do so and whatever capacity I am able to do so.

I just think it's one of the best ways to serve my community and take care of the next generation in the best way that I can.

Our thanks to Moline Coal Valley School Superintendent Doctor Rachel Savage talking about her Civic Spark On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer, thanks for taking some time to join us as we talk about the issues of The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends]