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
Orchestral Repertoire
MICHAEL ABELS (b. 1962)
**NEW WORK (for 2026-27 season, scored for full orchestra)
TERENCE BLANCHARD (b. 1962)
**Dance for a New Day, double concerto for violin, cello, and string orchestra
BRAHMS
Double Concerto in A Minor for violin and cello, Op. 102
ANDREA CASARRUBIOS (b. 1988)
*^MIRAGE for cello and orchestra (17 min.)
DVOŘÁK
^Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104
Silent Woods (7 min.)
ELGAR
^Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85
HAYDN
^Concerto No. 1 in C Major
Concerto No. 2 in D Major
J.P. JOFRE (b. 1983)
^Double Concerto for Cello and Bandoneon (2022)
KABALEVSKY
Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 49
JESSIE MONTGOMERY
**^Divided for cello and string orchestra
SAINT-SAËNS
Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
La Muse et le Poète, Op. 132
SCHUMANN
Concerto in A minor, Op. 129
STRAUSS
Don Quixote, Op. 35
TCHAIKOVSKY
^Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Pezzo Capriccioso (7 min.)
JOHN WILLIAMS
Theme from Schindler’s List (5 min.)
*American Premiere
**World Premiere and written for Tommy Mesa
^ Focus through the 2026-27 season
Schedule
Upcoming Concerts:
Past Concerts: