Kate Tombaugh ’07, Founder & Executive Director of Poco a Poco, coordinates the organization’s annual Summer Music Fest and training program for Young Artists. 2021 marks their fifth year with several planned events to take place both virtually and in her hometown Streator’s City Park in June. Check it out here!
Kate Tombaugh (’07) and Steven Weimer welcomed a new baby, Julia Caroline Weimer, on Sunday, March 21st, 2021. They are based in Decatur, IL and have an older daughter, Grace Marian, aged 4.
Congratulations to Kristin (Rathke) and Patrick McWilliams ’07 on the arrival of their Tiny Titan, Eden Anne McWilliams, on December 21, 2020! Once again, congratulations to them on the new addition to their family, and we wish them all the best!
Kate Tombaugh ’07 gave Titan Career Chat: Music/Entrepreneurship on 2/24. Attendees learned about the unique journey of Kate Tombaugh ’07, a professional mezzo-soprano, entrepreneur, and masterclass technician.
David Young ’07 has joined Lincoln Presbyterian church as Music Director in Lincoln, Illinois. Read the full article here.
Zach Freeman ’07 was featured in a Pantagraph’s “From Pages Past” article, which can be read here, about his success in the NCAA Division III Tournament fifteen years ago.
Monday, February 8 is Thank-A-Giver Day at Illinois Wesleyan and we’re eager to celebrate generous Titans!
Thank-A-Giver (TAG) Day is the symbolic point during the academic year — about 70% of the way through — when tuition dollars are exhausted and Illinois Wesleyan relies on donor generosity to continue providing a world-class education and rewarding collegiate experiences.
Each and every year, every gift matters. Contributions benefit students and faculty, enhance academic excellence, and strengthen the IWU community.
Thank you to all who give back to move IWU forward. 
Congratulations to Heather (Deutsch) Miller ’07, and her husband, Bryce! They welcomed their third child, Winston James Miller, on December 1, 2020. We wish them all the best in the New Year!
Congratulations to Shannon O’Rourke Kasali ’07 and her husband Baraka Kasali who welcomed their new tiny titan, Nia Maeve Kasali! Nia means “purpose” in Kiswahili and also has Irish origins meaning “bright.” Maeve means “bringer of great joy.” We wish your family all the best this holiday season!
Kate Tombaugh, a 2007 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, recently won the 10th annual Mildred C. Miller International Vocal Competition and $3,000 prize in an all-mezzo-soprano edition that began with 155 applicants and 13 finalists.
A Streator, Illinois native, Tombaugh was the only finalist representing the Midwest in the event hosted by Pittsburgh Festival Opera. Applicants submitted preliminary audition videos and a list of five arias for repertoire considerations, and the five member all-star panel of mezzo-soprano judges requested that Tombaugh present Nobles Seigneurs, salut! from Gioacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots and Things Change, Jo from Mark Adamo’s Little Women.
Careful steps were taken by Pittsburgh Festival Opera to ensure safe recording amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Sound and video recording devices were mailed to each finalist to ensure a more level playing field for everyone competing from home, as well as a chance to work with the pianist creating the accompaniment tracks. The Mildred Miller International Voice Competition was founded in 2011 to identify and nurture talented young singers. The competition is named for Pittsburgh Festival Opera founder Mildred Miller Posvar.
Tombaugh has performed professionally for a decade throughout the U.S. in works that range the gamut of classical and musical theater repertoire. Her most recent engagements include singing with Chicago Opera Theater in the world premiere of Freedom Ride, an American opera by Dan Shore celebrating the hundreds of young volunteers who risked their lives to desegregate interstate travel in 1961.
Since graduating from Illinois Wesleyan, some of Tombaugh’s career highlights have included performing as a soloist at CarnegieHall upon winning the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition, winning the Harold Haugh Light Opera Vocal Competition, placing second in the Nicholas Z. Loren Vocal Competition, hosted by the Holland Chorale, and being awarded the “Grace Keagy Award” by NYC-based Kurt Weill Foundation in their annual Lotte Lenya Foundation.
Read the full article here.
