Poco a Poco raises $2,000 for Music Fest slated for June 7-14 in Streator

Poco a Poco hosted two events April 5 at Park Presbyterian Church in Streator – its annual sampler fundraiser, selling $100 tickets to attend an intimate afternoon of mini concerts, visual arts displays, interviews and sampler desserts, and a free and public jam session for musicians of all ages, skills and levels.

The third annual Poco a Poco sampler raised $2,000 to directly support the nonprofit organization’s ninth Summer Music Fest to be held June 7 through June 14.

Sampler musicians, artists and supporters volunteered their time, travel and talents so that 100% of money raised benefits Poco a Poco’s training programs and free and public events hosted throughout the festival week in Streator.

Guitarist and Poco a Poco faculty member Ascher Taylor-Schroeder traveled from Louisville, Kentucky, to visit Wyatt Onsen’s guitar class at Streator High School on April 4. Ascher was a featured sampler performer, offering a set of pieces by Chilean composers Javier Contreras (1983), Violeta Para (1917-1967) and Juan Antonio Sanchez (1965). Later that night, Taylor-Schroeder coordinated the free and public jam session.

Other sampler musicians included Pontiac High School senior Olivia Yedinak (soprano), a three-time Poco a Poco Young Artist; Poco founder and Executive Director Kate Tombaugh (mezzo-soprano); and longtime Poco faculty and past board President Kathy Tombaugh on piano.

Nancy Mueller offered a set on the Park Church’s recently refurbished 1979 Casavant organ while leading listeners through a “snapshot” of how she sets up a church service. Pieces offered included J.S. Bach’s famous “Toccata & Fugue” in D Minor and “Fantasie” in C Minor (1685-1750), as well as Kocher’s “For the Beauty of the Earth” (1838).

Jennifer Rexius, a quilter, shared her creations as visual arts displays throughout the main floor rooms of the church, where performances and desserts took place. Rexius donated one of her handmade “postcard quilts” for a raffle, won by sampler attendee Marty Payne. Sampler desserts, a variety of cookie bars, were baked by Kathy and Matthew Tombaugh.

Also in attendance were five returning Poco high school Young Artists and their guests: Maydson Herkert of Pontiac High School, Jadyn Leone of Hall High School, Kylie Nettleingham and Joeylynn Arkels of Streator High School, and Maggie Wiegman of Ottawa High School.

Next year’s Sampler is set for 3 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at Park Presbyterian Church in Streator, 201 N. Vermillion St. Tickets are $100 each, with 100% of the proceeds raised going to Poco a Poco.

At this time, applications still are open for students currently in eighth through 12th grades to apply to be a Poco a Poco Young Artist. Registration for the introductory junior high training program is available online for students currently in fifth through seventh grades. Visit pocoapoco.org for more information.

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Ascher Taylor-Schroeder of Louisville, Kentucky presents a guitar set of Chilean composers on April 5, 2025, in Streator. (Photo provided by Kate Tombaugh)