Tommy Mesa

Cuban-American cellist Dr. Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic and engaging performers of his generation. The recipient of Avery Fisher Artist Program’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 and with major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Indianapolis, Madison, New Jersey, San Antonio, Santa Barbara, and Tucson Symphony, where he was Artist-in-Residence in the 2024-25 season, among others. Mesa gave the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s cello concerto Divided in 2022, 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 2023 on Deutsche Grammophon. Mesa began his position on the cello faculty at the Manhattan School of Music in Fall 2025.

Orchestral and ensemble highlights of the 2025-26 season include performances with the Greenville Symphony, Hartford Symphony, and San Antonio Philharmonic, giving the New York premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Canticle of the Sun with Voices of Ascension, and renewed collaborations with the Grammy-winning The Crossing Choir. In the recital sphere, Mesa performs with pianists Olga Kern, Michelle Cann, and Ilya Yakushev, including performance debuts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Cleveland Institute of Music, New Orleans Friends of Music, and Virginia Arts Festival, among others.

Mesa recently celebrated several releases, including a recording of tango works for cello and bandoneon with performer-composer JP Jofre and an album of world-premiere recordings by Black and Latinx composers with pianist Michelle Cann which was featured in an exclusive showcase on NYC’s classical station WQXR. Upcoming albums include collaborations with the iconic pianist Olga Kern, andThe Crossing Choir.

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.