Press
“A listener with closed eyes would have been hard pressed to distinguish his shapely, expressive performance from that of an artist two or three times his age.”
“The concert’s most striking moment came in this piece’s second movement, when Mesa accompanied his own voice for a haunting, wordless melody.”
“Mr. Mesa’s playing had a musical intensity that was commanding in every detail...”
““The pair’s playing [Mesa + pianist Ilya Yakushev] was grounded in storytelling, as great musical performances often are...a musical performance that encapsulates the best that good drama has to offer.”
“Thomas Mesa brought out [the Debussy Sonata’s] edge and contrasting timbres.”
“He gave a splendid account of the piece [Dvorak Cello Concerto], shaping its tender, simple tunes with winning sincerity and delivering its challenging passages with effortless panache.”
“Greg Zelek and Thomas Mesa, two Juilliard buddies, put on the most enjoyable concert I have ever encountered.”
Tommy Mesa, cellist
Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. Mesa was the winner of the $50,000 First Prize in the 2016 Sphinx Competition and the Astral Artists 2017 National Auditions. He has appeared as soloist at the Supreme Court of the United States on three occasions and with major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Indianapolis, Madison, New Jersey, Santa Barbara, and Southwest Florida, among others.
Orchestral highlights of the 2021-22 and 2022-2023 seasons include his performance debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Antonio Philharmonic, curated chamber and orchestral performances including his own solo appearance with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and solo features on two extensive tours with the Sphinx Virtuosi. Following his performance of Andrea Casarrubio’s pandemic-inspired SEVEN for solo cello during the Sphinx Virtuosi 2021-22 tour, Tommy gave the world premiere performances of Jessie Montgomery’s new cello concerto, Divided, during its 2022-23 tour at major institutions across the United States and Brazil including Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Cleveland Institute of Music, Chamber Music Northwest, the Oregon Bach Festival, and Sala São Paulo.
As a recitalist, Tommy has toured extensively with pianists Michelle Cann and Ilya Yakushev and has expanded duo recital offerings with these artists as well as pianist Olga Kern and bandoneonist/composer JP Jofre in upcoming seasons. Mesa has been featured in recital at The Academy of Arts and Letters, Bargemusic, University of Miami’s Signature Series, Columbia University, Flagler Museum, The Heifetz Institute, California Center for the Arts, Meadowmount School of Music, Strad for Lunch Series, International Beethoven Project, Perlman Music Program Alumni Recital, and major universities across the United States.
As a recording artist, Tommy recorded his first solo album called Division of Memory on the PARMA Recordings label which received rave reviews such as in PianoMania, “Do not hold your breath for Yo-Yo Ma to record this repertoire, for the just-as-excellent Mesa has the field entirely to himself.” Other projects in the works to be released on the same label include a duo album with Michelle Cann featuring composers who are Black and Latinx, a duo album with bandoneonist JP Jofre, and a duo album with Olga Kern. Thomas was featured on the GRAMMY-nominated album, “Bonhoeffer,” with the multiple GRAMMY winning group, The Crossing Choir. He has appeared with them as soloist at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, Longwood Gardens, The Winter Garden, and the Theological Seminary in NYC. Tommy and The Crossing Choir also collaborated on the U.S. premiere of “Astralis” for choir and solo cello by renowned composer Wolfgang Rihm and have more collaborations and premieres scheduled for future seasons.
As an ensemble musician, Tommy has been on tours with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and is the principal cellist of Sphinx Virtuosi who play every year on tour at almost every major venue across the United States. He is also the cellist of the St. Petersburg Piano Quartet, collaborates with Jupiter Chamber Players, and has toured with Itzhak Perlman both nationally and internationally.
Tommy has given masterclasses at institutions such as U.C Berkeley, Boston Conservatory, the Colburn School, DePaul University, Meadowmount School of Music, University of Miami, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Northwestern University, and Walnut Hill School. Previously, he held faculty positions at SUNY Purchase, Sphinx Performance Academy, The Heifetz Institute’s PEG Program, Music Mountain Festival and School, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Montecito International Music Festival, St. Petersburg International Music Academy, and The Mozart Academy at John Jay College in New York City.
Tommy Mesa received his BM from The Juilliard School, MM from Northwestern University, and is a doctoral candidate at Manhattan School of Music. His principal teachers were Timothy Eddy, Julia Lichten, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Mark Churchill, Ross Harbaugh, and Wells Cunningham. Thomas has is being loaned a cello made by Guilio Gigli, c. 1789.
Schedule
Upcoming Concerts:
Past Concerts: