JULY 2019 STLMAG.COM (^) ýĀ
MUSICIAN SO GOOD,
BARACK OBAMA LOVES HER
Tonina
At the end of last year, for-
mer president Barack Obama
tweeted out his Best Songs of
2018 list, and St. Louis’ own
Tonina was on it for her version
of “Historia de un Amor”—to
which we say, respectfully: No
duh. The Berklee-educated
singer and bassist has a classic
voice that’ll be giving goose-
bumps to St. Louisans, presi-
dents, and the whole world for
generations. iamtonina.com.
VERSATILE PERFORMER
Linda Kennedy
It’s notoriously more difficult to
put on a one-woman show than
it is to act with a cast, which
makes Kennedy’s performance
of Upstream Theater’s Chef
this year all the more remark-
able. Kennedy’s well known on
the St. Louis theater scene as
both performer and coach. It
was in Chef—in which she plays
a prison cook...no, a prisoner
who is a cook...make that a
fine-dining chef in prison—that
we saw her command the stage
and reveal layers and layers
of her character in a way few
others can.
GLOBAL YOUTH
PROGRAMMING
St. Louis Symphony
Youth Orchestra
St. Louis is spoiled for choice
when it comes to live music
options, but there was some-
thing special about watching
the St. Louis Symphony Youth
Orchestra—a partnership
between the symphony, Saint
Louis University, and the Asso-
ciation of American Voices—this
season. St. Louis is the only host
city in the country. Maybe that
something special was Diyar
Jamal, 20, a bassist, and Lawan
Taha Hama Ali, 22, a violinist.
The two young musicians came
to St. Louis this year from Kurd-
istan. 718 N. Grand.
MUNY SUCCESS STORY
Kennedy Holmes
For one season of NBC’s singing
competition The Voice, all of
St. Louis was rooting for
Holmes, the 14-year-old Floris-
sant native and Muny per-
former with a powerhouse voice
and a confidence beyond her
years (we seriously swooned
when she sang a duet with her
idol, Voice judge Jennifer Hud-
son). She proved what we knew
all along: The Muny is a training
ground for the best and bright-
est in the next generation of tal-
ent. imkennedyholmes.com.
MOST ANTICIPATED
LITERARY PROJECT
The High Low
Sure, you can write anywhere
you can set up with a laptop. But
a space that’s dedicated to the
art form can only inspire, and
coffee definitely helps. Writers
and readers alike are eagerly
awaiting a new offering from
the Kranzberg Arts Founda-
tion: The High Low, opening
in August. It’s a library, gal-
lery, café, and event space for
storytelling, poetry, and book
signings. A writers-in-residence
program is also planned.
kranzbergartsfoundation.org.
ORIGINAL SERIES
Smoke City
Cami Thomas, who grew up
in Florissant and went to high
school in Ladue, has been
translating two very different
versions of St. Louis all her life.
Her web series, Smoke City,
continues the conversation. In
it, Thomas visits various neigh-
borhoods and interviews their
residents, painting a picture of
a city navigating its own beauty
and tension. ftctvofficial.com.
Photography by Jessica Page, Henry Trihn, courtesy of Kennedy Holmes
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