Tommy Mesa Unveils 2026-2027 Season: Dallas Symphony Debut, Carnegie, and Tour

Breaking news to your phone. US mobile only. No password required.

Broadway + NYC

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Off Broadway

Cabaret

Dance

Opera

Classical Music

West End / UK

International

Canada

Australia / New Zealand

Europe

Asia

Latin America

Africa / Middle East

Entertainment

Ctrl + K to open · Esc to close

Mesa to present Abels World Premiere in Debut with Dallas Symphony Orchestra and NY premiere of Hartke's Da Pacem with the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Most Popular

Get all the top news & discounts for Classical Music & beyond. No password required.

Cuban-American cellist Dr. Tommy Mesa announces his 2026-2027 season, a schedule that pairs the unveiling of two new concerti with an extensive slate of recital and chamber music engagements across the United States and Mexico. Mesa makes his Dallas Symphony Orchestra debut in March 2027 in the world premiere of Michael Abels' Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, a work he goes on to perform and record with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. He also returns to Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra for the New York premiere of Stephen Hartke's Da Pacem for cello and orchestra. In recital, Mesa tours with pianist Olga Kern – with a studio recording to follow – and appears in duo programs across the country with pianist Ilya Yakushev and organist Greg Zelek. The season follows the February 2026 release of Mesa's second solo album, 17(67) , on Azica Records.

Get all the top news & discounts for Classical Music & beyond.

This season follows a 2025-2026 season in which Mesa stepped in as soloist in Wynton Marsalis 's new Cello Concerto for the Detroit performance of Interlochen Center for the Arts' four-city tour Imagine US: Celebrating America at 250, joining Interlochen Arts Academy students and members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Interlochen Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Cristian Măcelaru in a program launching Interlochen's centennial celebration. He also gave the New York City premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's The Canticle of the Sun with Voices of Ascension; released his second solo album, 17(67) , on Azica Records; appeared with the Greenville Symphony, Hartford Symphony, and San Antonio Philharmonic; continued his collaboration with The Crossing; gave debuts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Bender JCC of Greater Washington, the Cleveland Institute of Music, New Orleans Friends of Music, and the Virginia Arts Festival, and was appointed to the cello faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

Mesa opens the 2026-2027 season on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, with a performance of Sofia Gubaidulina's The Canticle of the Sun, a work for cello, chorus, and percussion originally written in 1999 that he introduced to New York audiences for the first time with Voices of Ascension earlier in 2026.

In October, Mesa and pianist Olga Kern bring a shared recital program of works by Beethoven, Copland, Barber, Adolphus Hailstork, and Andrea Casarrubios to three presenters in consecutive performances: the Birmingham Chamber Music Society on Thursday, October 15, 2026; Chamber Music Raleigh on Friday, October 16, 2026; and Dumbarton Concerts on Saturday, October 17, 2026. The duo enters the studio following the tour to record together for a forthcoming release.

Mesa performs a recital as part of Western New Mexico University's President's Chamber Music Series in Silver City, NM on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, before joining the San Juan Symphony for Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor, conducted by Thomas Heuser, in Durango, CO on Saturday, November 7, 2026 and in Farmington, NM on Sunday, November 8, 2026. The performances mark his debut with the orchestra.

On Sunday, November 15, 2026, Parlance Chamber Concerts presents Mesa in Café Music, an all-star chamber program featuring violinist Kevin Zhu , pianist Albert Cano Smit, clarinetist Anton Rist, bassoonist William Short , trumpeter Billy R. Hunter, Jr., and guitarist Rupert Boyd, with works by Martinů, Rossini, Piazzolla, James Grant , and Paul Schoenfield.

Mesa begins 2027 in San Antonio, TX, with Harmonium of Texas on Sunday, January 10, 2027, joining violinist Elena Urioste and pianist Jeffrey Kahane in Beethoven's Triple Concerto, conducted by Stephanie Childress. The performance comes in the inaugural season of Harmonium of Texas, the new orchestra and educational initiative founded by Kahane, and forms part of the first installment of the orchestra's Beethoven Bicentenary Celebration. The program also features Mary Kouyoumdjian's Tagh and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D Major.

He then travels to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for two recitals with pianist Ilya Yakushev, presented by Pro Musica, on Friday, January 15 and Sunday, January 17, 2027, in programs featuring works by Beethoven, Schumann, Piazzolla, Barber, Teresa Carreño, Casarrubios, Ernesto Lecuona , Bloch, Shostakovich, Lera Auerbach, and Debussy. Mesa and Yakushev reunite for Impromptu Concerts in Key West, FL on January 24, 2027 at the Tennessee Williams Theater; Friends of Chamber Music of Troy on Saturday, January 30, 2027 at the University at Albany Performing Arts Center; THE 222 in Healdsburg, CA on Friday, February 5, 2027; and at the Howland Chamber Music Circle on Sunday, April 18, 2027.

Mesa joins organist Greg Zelek for three duo performances of original and specially arranged works by Astor Piazzolla , Bach, Remo Giazotto (attributed to Albinoni), Carlos Simon, Nadia Boulanger, and Daniel Ficarri. The pair appears on the Epiphany Catholic Church Recital Series in Miami, FL on Tuesday, January 19, 2027; at Longwood Gardens on Thursday, February 18, 2027; and Charleston Chamber Music Society in Charleston, WV on Saturday, May 1, 2027.

On Wednesday, February 3, 2027, Mesa performs a recital with pianist Marina Radiushina at Palm Beach State College.

Mesa makes his Dallas Symphony Orchestra debut in the world premiere performances of Michael Abels' Cello Concerto from March 11 to 14, 2027, led by conductor Samuel Lee . Of the 25-minute new work, Abels says, 'My vision for the cello concerto is about Serenity, as in the Serenity Prayer that is used in 12-Step programs: 'God grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.' That sentence contains 3 movements, and this piece reflects those concepts of serenity, courage, and wisdom.' The concerto is paired with Bernstein's 'Three Dance Episodes' from On the Town and Dvořák's Symphony No. 8. The concerto is a consortium commission shared with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony. He performs the work again with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra under conductor Mark Russell Smith on Saturday, April 3, 2027 in Davenport, IA, Sunday, April 4, 2027 in Rock Island, IL, and Monday, April 5, 2027 in Macomb, IL, with a recording of the work to follow.

Between the two concerto engagements, Mesa returns to Carnegie Hall on Thursday, March 18, 2027 at 7:30 PM with the American Composers Orchestra for New Virtuoso: Low End Theory, led by José Luis Gómez and featuring Mesa alongside violist Jordan Bak. Mesa gives the New York premiere of Stephen Hartke's Da Pacem for cello and orchestra on a program that also includes the world premieres of Malachi Brown's From Birth., Horacio Fernández's Tumbao, and Laura Ortman 's Unsurrenderable Glisten of the Ices for orchestra and electronics, plus the New York premiere of Michael Frazier 's los quetzales for viola and orchestra.

He reprises Dvořák's Cello Concerto with the Rochester Symphony, led by Music Director Chia-Hsuan Lin, on Saturday, April 24, 2027 at 7:30 PM. The program also includes Saint-Saëns' Danse Bacchanale and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 7:00 PM — The Canticle of the Sun at Peabody Institute — Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD — Link

Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM — Birmingham Chamber Music Society Presents Tommy Mesa and Olga Kern in Recital — Jane Hollock Brock Recital Hall, Samford University | Birmingham, AL — Link

Friday, October 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM — Chamber Music Raleigh Presents Tommy Mesa and Olga Kern in Recital — SECU Auditorium, North Carolina Museum of Art | Raleigh, NC — Link

Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 7:30 PM — Dumbarton Concerts Presents Tommy Mesa and Olga Kern in Recital — Dumbarton Church | Washington, DC — Link

Tuesday, November 3, 2026 at 7:00 PM — President's Chamber Music Series Presents Cellist Tommy Mesa — Light Hall Theater | Silver City, NM — Link

Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 7:30 PM — San Juan Symphony Presents Romantic Giants (Dvořák Cello Concerto) — Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College | Durango, CO — Link

Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 3:00 PM — San Juan Symphony Presents Romantic Giants (Dvořák Cello Concerto) — Henderson Performance Hall, San Juan College | Farmington, NM — Link

Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM — Parlance Chamber Concerts Presents Café Music — West Side Presbyterian Church | Ridgewood, NJ — Link

Sunday, January 10, 2027 at 3:30 PM — Harmonium of Texas — Lila Cockrell Theatre | San Antonio, TX — Link

Friday, January 15, 2027 at 5:00 PM and Sunday, January 17, 2027 at 5:00 PM — Pro Musica Presents Tommy Mesa and Ilya Yakushev in Recital — St. Paul's Church Calle del Cardo | San Miguel de Allende, Mexico — Link

Tuesday, January 19, 2027 at 7:30 PM — Epiphany Catholic Church Recital Series Presents Tommy Mesa and Greg Zelek in Recital — Epiphany Catholic Church | Miami, FL — Link

Sunday, January 24, 2027 at 4:00 PM — Impromptu Concerts Presents Tommy Mesa and Ilya Yakushev — Tennessee Williams Theater | Key West, FL — Link

Saturday, January 30, 2027 at 7:30 PM — Friends of Chamber Music of Troy Presents Tommy Mesa and Ilya Yakushev in Recital — University at Albany Performing Arts Center | Albany, NY — Link

Wednesday, February 3, 2027 at 2:00 PM — Palm Beach State College Presents Tommy Mesa and Marina Radiushina in Recital — Duncan Theater | Lake Worth Beach, FL — Link

Friday, February 5, 2027 at 7:00 PM — THE 222 Presents Tommy Mesa and Ilya Yakushev in Recital — THE 222 | Healdsburg, CA — Link

Thursday, February 18, 2027 at 7:30 PM — Longwood Gardens Presents Tommy Mesa and Greg Zelek in Recital — Longwood Gardens Ballroom | Kennett Square, PA — Link

Thursday, March 11, 2027 at 7:30 PM; Saturday, March 13, 2027 at 7:30 PM; Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 PM — Dallas Symphony Orchestra Presents Bernstein & Dvořák (Abels Concerto World Premiere) — Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center | Dallas, TX — Link

Thursday, March 18, 2027 at 7:30 PM — American Composers Orchestra — New Virtuoso: Low End Theory — Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall | New York, NY — Link

Saturday, April 3, 2027 at 7:30 PM — Quad City Symphony Orchestra Presents Masterworks VI: Dvořák Symphony No.8 (Abels Concerto) — Adler Theatre | Davenport, IA — Link

Sunday, April 4, 2027 at 2:00 PM — Quad City Symphony Orchestra Presents Masterworks VI: Dvořák Symphony No.8 (Abels Concerto) — Centennial Hall, Augustana College | Rock Island, IL — Link

Monday, April 5, 2027 at 7:30 PM — Quad City Symphony Orchestra Presents Masterworks VI: Dvořák Symphony No.8 (Abels Concerto) — Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts, Western Illinois University | Macomb, IL — Link

Sunday, April 18, 2027 at 4:00 PM — Howland Chamber Music Circle Presents Tommy Mesa and Ilya Yakushev in Recital — Howland Cultural Center | Beacon, NY — Link

Saturday, April 24, 2027 at 7:30 PM — Rochester Symphony Presents Dreams of Enchantment (Dvořák Cello Concerto) — Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall | Rochester, MN — Link

Saturday, May 1, 2027 at 7:00 PM — Charleston Chamber Music Society Presents Tommy Mesa and Greg Zelek in Recital — Christ Church United Methodist | Charleston, WV — Li

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwclassical/article/Cellist-Tommy-Mesa-to-Make-Dallas-Symphony-Debut-20260917)._