Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa and French-Romanian pianist Alexandra Joan join us live for the IMF Chicago Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert with music of Joaquín Nin, Debussy and Beethoven.
Thomas Mesa & Alexandra Joan
Thomas Mesa
Playlist
Thomas Mesa, Cello
Alexandra Joan, Piano
Selections from Spanish Suite (4’)
I. Vieja Castilla
II. Murciana
Joaquín Nin (1879 – 1949)
Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor (10’)
I. Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto
II. Sérénade: Modérément animé
III. Final: Animé, léger et nerveux
Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)
Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69 (24’)
I. Allegro ma non tanto
II. Scherzo. Allegro molto
III. Adagio cantabile – Allegro vivace
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Thomas Mesa, Cuban-American cellist, is a winner of the Astral Artists Auditions (2017), the Sphinx Competition (2016), and the Thaviu Competition for String Performance (2013).
Concerto engagements for this season and future seasons include The Cleveland Orchestra, the LA Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl, Erie Chamber Orchestra, Firelands Symphony, and Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Recent engagements include the Mainly Mozart Festival, Nantucket Musical Arts Society, Bargemusic, Columbia University, Carnegie Hall, The Supreme Court, Meadowmount School of Music, Strad for Lunch Series in NYC, and Perlman Music Program Alumni Recital.
Mr. Mesa was one of the featured instrumentalists on The Crossing Choir’s album called “Bonhoeffer” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2017. Led by Donald Nally, this multiple award-winning ensemble has invited Mr. Mesa as the featured soloist for performances at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Longwood Gardens, The Winter Garden (broadcast on WNYC) and the Theological Seminary in New York City.
He has held faculty positions at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Montecito International Music Festival, St. Petersburg International Music Academy, The Mozart Academy at John Jay College in New York, and the Manhattan School of Music where he currently teaches through the Long Distance Learning Program. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School (B.M. 2012) and Northwestern University (M.M. 2014), and is currently a doctoral candidate at the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Mesa plays on a Richard Tobin cello dated 1820.
Praised for her vibrant interpretations, the French-Romanian pianist Alexandra Joan is an active soloist and sought-after chamber player performing extensively in Europe and in the United States. She has appeared at major venues and festivals in Europe, Israel, and the United States, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, and Tel Hai. She has been a soloist with the “Follia” Chamber Orchestra, the Mulhouse and Montbeliard Symphony Orchestras in France, and the Montenegro Symphony Orchestra.
She has won prizes at the Andorra International Competition, the Arriaga Chamber Music Competition in 2010 (First Prize), and the 2013 Josef Suk International Competition in Prague (Second Prize). Her recital and chamber music performances have been featured on Radio France, Radio Suisse Romande, Arte TV, and WQXR in New York. An advocate of new music, she works regularly with young composers and has premiered a number of chamber works.
Her first CD “Dances and Songs” was released in October 2014 on the Victor Elmaleh Collection. Alexandra Joan began a Doctoral Program in Music Performance at the CUNY Graduate Center on a full scholarship in the Fall of 2015 and is currently studying with Ursula Oppens and Richard Goode.
