Fifth-grade violinists from Grandview, TX, Elementary School are accustomed to taking Branson, MO, by storm, but this year they wowed audiences despite the “double whammy” of rainstorms and a pandemic. Founder-director Vicki Nichols, who has taken the Zebra Strings to Branson for 15 consecutive years on a chartered bus, opted out last spring when COVID-19 dangers overruled. Contagion fears nixed bus travel this year for the 500-mile trip, so the 33 youngsters set out with parents in personal vehicles, arriving in the Ozark entertainment mecca a few hours before their first of three “pre-show” programs. Their 30-minute sets preceded two-hour “regular shows” ...