Michelle Cann and Tommy Mesa

Pianist Michelle Cann made her orchestral debut at age fourteen and has since performed as a soloist with numerous ensembles including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

A champion of the music of Florence Price, Ms. Cann performed the New York City premiere of the composer’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra in February 2021, which the Philadelphia Inquirer called “exquisite.”

Highlights of her 2021–22 season include debut performances with the Atlanta, Detroit, and St. Louis symphony orchestras, as well as her Canadian concert debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. She also receives the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. Embracing a dual role as both performer and pedagogue, her season includes teaching residencies at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and the National Conference of the Music Teachers National Association.

Ms. Cann regularly appears in solo and chamber recitals throughout the U.S., China, and South Korea. Notable venues include the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and the Barbican (London). She has also appeared as cohost and collaborative pianist with NPR’s From The Top.

An award winner at top international competitions, in 2019 she served as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s MAC Music Innovator in recognition of her role as an African-American classical musician who embodies artistry, innovation, and a commitment to education and community engagement.

Ms. Cann studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she holds the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies.

Cuban-American cellist Dr. Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. He is the recipient of the 2023 Sphinx Medal of Excellence Award, First Prize in the 2016 Sphinx Competition, and Winner of 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 performing debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Antonio Philharmonic, curating chamber and orchestral performances including his own solo appearance with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and appearing as a featured soloist 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, The Colburn School’s Amplify Series, 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.