Maud Powell to be honored in Peru on 158th birthday

Community invited to celebrate hometown music icon with birthday tribute and live performance

August 20, 2025 at 6:32 pm CDT

This statue on Fourth Street in downtown Peru honors Maud Powell, a celebration honoring her will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at the Maud Powell statue in the Fourth Street courtyard in downtown Peru.

A celebration honoring violinist Maud Powell will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at the Maud Powell statue in the Fourth Street courtyard in downtown Peru.

The event marks Powell’s 158th birthday, according to a news release. Violinists are invited to participate in a short commemorative concert and should arrive by 5:30 p.m. with a music stand. The group will perform “Happy Birthday” at 6 p.m.

For music and information, contact Constance Deal at 309-945-2637.

According to Karen Shaffer, historian and president of the Maud Powell Society, Powell was born on August 22, 1867, in a two-story brick house in Peru.

“She blazed a trail that opened the hearts and minds of the American people to the beauty and truth of music,” she said in a news release.

The event is free and open to the public.

Maribeth M. Wilson

Maribeth M. Wilson has been a reporter with Shaw Media for two years, one of those as news editor at the Morris Herald-News. She became a part of the NewsTribune staff in 2023.