Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. The recipient of 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 across the U.S. As TSO’s 2024-25 Artist-in-Residence, Mesa will perform on the next TSO Up Close concert, Schubert’s Cello Quintet on November 2 and 3, and on the December 13 and 15 Classic Series concert Haydn and Brahms.
How do you view the role of artist-in-residence, and what do you hope to achieve through it?
It’s really a special thing to have an artist partnership with an orchestra. When done right, each exposes the other to new music and widens that perceived boundary of what each entity can kind of bring to each other. I love that we can learn from each other. As artist-in-residence this year I’m bringing Jesse Montgomery’s new cello concerto that was written for me a couple of years ago.
I’m super excited about the TSO Up Close concert because it’s unusual for the soloists to come in and collaborate with members of the orchestra in a small intimate setting. I’m really looking forward to that because not only do I get to know several people in the orchestra before I come to play with the orchestra, but also we get to work on some great music together and I love that we’ve created that space for all of us to share and collaborate. It’s going to be a great time.
As artist-in-residence, you play a pivotal role in programming the next TSO Up Close Concert. Can you tell me about your approach to programming and what perspective you hope to bring to the musicians?
When programming the Up Close concert I decided to bring music that I am passionate about. I selected pieces by Andrea Cassarubios and Caroline Shaw, both very young women composers who are just doing phenomenal things in the field. I love that they’re being brought together on one program along with the iconic Schubert Cello Quintet. The program starts with Casarrubios’ Seven for solo cello. This piece is very special to me because I commissioned it during the pandemic as a nod to the time 7:00pm when people across the world would go to their balconies and windows and they would clap for the essential workers. It is a very special piece, and it’s performed by tons of students at conservatories and universities which speaks to the life of that piece, that it has continued in the mainstream, which is not common in new music. I’m grateful to have been a part of creating something that people find meaningful.
Limestone and Felt by Caroline Shaw is a very exciting and very fun duo for cello and viola. I don’t have some sort of deep explanation for why I programmed it other than I just love the piece, and I think audiences will love the piece as well. As far as what I hope to bring, I’m not approaching this as I’m coming to show people what I know. It’s more of just a collaboration, we’re all learning from each other.
When you return to Tucson in December you will be performing two concertos back-to-back in one concert, Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and Jessie Montgomery’s Divided. Can you share your thoughts around juxtaposing these concertos on one concert?
Playing Haydn and Jesse Montgomery’s piece back-to-back is definitely going to be a physical challenge. I’ve been doing it a lot over the last year, pairing Jessie’s piece with another. It’s very demanding, but it’s also very worth it because, as you said, it is that juxtaposition of old and new and I can’t think of a better way to bring that idea to the floor than by putting Jesse with Haydn. Haydn is the quintessential cello concerto. If you’re studying to be a cellist performing Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major is a rite of passage. A lot of people know and love the piece. I grew up playing it and it’s such a great contrast to this sort of gritty, intense, emotionally charged piece by Jessie Montgomery. You have Haydn, which is very light and very fluffy and still has a lot of romantic substance, but also there’s a lot of dance and it is an absolutely phenomenal piece of music. Whereas Jessie’s piece has a deeper message, and Jesse is one of the most famous young composers right now. I like this a lot, having women composers who are just doing phenomenal things: Andrea Cassarubios, Caroline Shaw, and Jessie Montgomery, to bring those three together with classics like Haydn and Schubert is just so fun.
I also love talking to audiences afterwards, because in this kind of program a lot of people are surprised with how much they adore the newer stuff and the pieces that they expected to be challenged by are actually not challenging. They’re really very meaningful and exciting and you feel like you’re witnessing the new generation emerging. You know, we love Haydn, we love Schubert, but the audience reactions to these other pieces are really astonishing and exciting for me and encouraging as a curator.
You’re such a great supporter of new works and so passionate about it. Where does that passion come from and what are you hoping to see for the future of orchestral music?
You know I don’t know exactly where it comes from, but I think if I were to dig into that a little bit, it definitely comes from a place of wanting to be a part of the message that’s coming out of today’s experiences. There’s a lot going on and composers are reacting to so many different things in the world and they are sharing their feelings and their thoughts and their emotions in real time. I love new music because it makes me feel like I’m delivering a message that is relevant and current to everyone’s mindset. That is a more meaningful experience than, for example, sharing a message that people don’t relate to.
That’s all playing really is. It’s talking to an audience. It’s sharing ideas and messages through music and if they’re not relating to what we’re saying, you can feel that distance and you can feel that sort of separation. And if that message is current and that message is relatable and something that people are experiencing currently, then there is a confirmation in the audiences’ reaction and in their understanding of the music. I love being a part of that feeling that the music is being understood, that it’s not going over anyone’s heads, and that there is a relatability to the music. I love that kind of music.