Internationally acclaimed cellist and faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, Tommy Mesa, visits Levine to lead a master class featuring cellists of Levine’s Washington Musical Pathways Initiative (WMPI). All are welcome!
Cuban-American cellist Dr. Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. The recipient of Lincoln Center’s 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Organization’s 2023 Medal of Excellence, its highest honor, Mesa has appeared as soloist at the Supreme Court of the United States on four 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, San Antonio, and Santa Barbara, among others. Mesa gave the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s cello concerto Divided in 2022 and has been the exclusive soloist since, performing at major halls across the United States and Brazil, including Miami’s New World Center, Nashville’s Schermerhorn Center, and Carnegie Hall. His orchestral recording debut of the work was released in July 2023 on Deutsche Grammophon.
Mesa 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, and 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.
Mesa’s career launched after becoming the First Prize winner in the 2016 Sphinx
Competition and a winner of the 2017 Astral Artists National Auditions. He received his BM
from The Juilliard School, MM from Northwestern University, and his DMA from the
Manhattan School of Music. His principal teachers were Timothy Eddy, Julia Lichten, Hans
Jorgen Jensen, Mark Churchill, Ross Harbaugh, and Wells Cunningham. Mesa performs on
a Nicolò Gagliano cello made in 1767 and a bow by Andre Richaume, both generously
loaned to him by CANIMEX INC in Drummondville, Canada.
Free RSVP
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