The spotlight shines on a capella singer and junior at Ladue High School Menea Kefalov with her recent performance with Viva Voce at the International Championship of High School A Capella (ICHSA). But even behind the scenes, Kefalov shows even greater talents as a burgeoning singer-songwriter, guitarist and cellist.
Singing with Viva Voce, Ladue’s a capella group, Menea sang with the vocalists to first place in the quarterfinals and won a spot in the semifinal competition in Chicago on March 10 for a chance to compete in the finals in New York City. But more than that, Menea won herself the title as the most “Outstanding Soloist” with her powerful solo in the song, “When We Were Young” by Adele.
“I definitely did not expect us to win, it is our first year competing and even our first year in existence,” Kefalov said. “I expected it to be a super fun experience (which it was) and I was just really excited to see all the other groups. Because we got first place this past weekend, we will be traveling up to Chicago and we could not be more excited about it.”
Behind the scenes, Kefalov puts in an outstanding amount of effort into music. She is currently developing an Instagram account featuring her musical performances, @meneamusic, and takes private vocal lessons to try to improve her singing.
“The community and love between musicians is also unreal, Kefalov said. “I have made so many life long friends through music and am so lucky for how much support I have received from my family and friends.”
Her hard work ended up paying off as she spent some time over the summer with music. This time was the crucial step for her setting off to pursue her musical career.
“I always wrote songs and sang for fun but it didn’t really seem realistic for me until over the summer when I went to a program at Berklee College of Music in Boston where I absolutely fell in love with their vocal department,” Kefalov said. “While I was there, I received a full scholarship for their 5 week program the next summer, and my mind was made.”
Kefalov uses her music to better, share with, and inspire others. She also uses her talents working on the board of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, where she sings and plays guitar, to spread joy among her community.
“Menea is one of the most gifted and passionate young musicians that I have ever met,” orchestra director and Tri-M sponsor Twinda Murry said. “She writes and performs her original compositions with a depth of emotion that is rarely since in someone so young. She is generous with her skills to help other and make the world a better place through music.”
Menea’s music has led her to enhancing the people’s lives around her with her multiple talents. Altogether, Kefalov is one of Ladue’s rising stars and plans to follow music into the future.
“My most recent discovery is that I can play guitar behind my head,” Kefalov said. “I’m also pretty great at the kazoo. The possibilities for new things are endless and amazing, I just can’t wait to see where life takes me with music.”
