Events

Recital for cello and piano

Ilya Yakushev, piano
Tommy Mesa, cello 

Tommy Mesa, cello
Samuel Lee, conductor

BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
MICHAEL ABELS Cello Concerto* (World Premiere)
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major

Dvořák’s tranquil Symphony No. 8 took shape following a summer holiday in the Bohemian countryside, its vibrant landscapes captured in a stream of Czech folk song and Dvořák’s lush melodies. Listen closely and you’ll hear the sounds of summer — from fluttering birdsong to the echoes of a shepherd’s horn and a distant thunderstorm.

The charismatic cellist Tommy Mesa makes his DSO debut with the world premiere of Michael Abels’ Cello Concerto. Best known for his score to the Oscar®-winning film Get Out, Abels wields music to explore the need for serenity, courage and wisdom in turbulent times. Jazz-infused dances from Bernstein’s On the Town open the program, following the hilarious hijinks of sailors seeking adventure and romance in wartime New York.

Tommy Mesa, cello
Samuel Lee, conductor

BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
MICHAEL ABELS Cello Concerto* (World Premiere)
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major

Dvořák’s tranquil Symphony No. 8 took shape following a summer holiday in the Bohemian countryside, its vibrant landscapes captured in a stream of Czech folk song and Dvořák’s lush melodies. Listen closely and you’ll hear the sounds of summer — from fluttering birdsong to the echoes of a shepherd’s horn and a distant thunderstorm.

The charismatic cellist Tommy Mesa makes his DSO debut with the world premiere of Michael Abels’ Cello Concerto. Best known for his score to the Oscar®-winning film Get Out, Abels wields music to explore the need for serenity, courage and wisdom in turbulent times. Jazz-infused dances from Bernstein’s On the Town open the program, following the hilarious hijinks of sailors seeking adventure and romance in wartime New York.

Tommy Mesa, cello
Samuel Lee, conductor

BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
MICHAEL ABELS Cello Concerto* (World Premiere)
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major

Dvořák’s tranquil Symphony No. 8 took shape following a summer holiday in the Bohemian countryside, its vibrant landscapes captured in a stream of Czech folk song and Dvořák’s lush melodies. Listen closely and you’ll hear the sounds of summer — from fluttering birdsong to the echoes of a shepherd’s horn and a distant thunderstorm.

The charismatic cellist Tommy Mesa makes his DSO debut with the world premiere of Michael Abels’ Cello Concerto. Best known for his score to the Oscar®-winning film Get Out, Abels wields music to explore the need for serenity, courage and wisdom in turbulent times. Jazz-infused dances from Bernstein’s On the Town open the program, following the hilarious hijinks of sailors seeking adventure and romance in wartime New York.

José Luis Gomez, Conductor
Jordan Bak, Viola
Tommy Mesa, Cello

With its latest program of premieres, the American Composers Orchestra interrogates the popular association between “higher, faster, louder” and virtuosity. In five new works by distinguished American composers, the ensemble explores virtuosity on “the lower end of the sonic spectrum,” says Artistic Director Curtis Stewart, and they interrogate the concept of virtuosity itself and how it interacts with what we value both on and off the stage. José Luis Gomez conducts this fascinating new program, featuring violist Jordan Bak and cellist Tommy Mesa as soloists.

Mark Russell Smith, conductor
Tommy Mesa, cello

CARLOS CHÁVEZ Sinfonia india (12′)
MICHAEL ABELS Cello Concerto (25′) Quad Cities Premiere of a co-commissioned New Work
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 (34′)

Mark Russell Smith, conductor
Tommy Mesa, cello

CARLOS CHÁVEZ Sinfonia india (12′)
MICHAEL ABELS Cello Concerto (25′) Quad Cities Premiere of a co-commissioned New Work
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 (34′)

Program TBD

Ilya Yakushev, piano
Tommy Mesa, cello

Recital works for organ and cello including Piazzolla, Bach, Albanoni, Carlos Simon, Nadia Boulanger, Dan Ficarri and Ernesto Lecuona.

Greg Zelek, organ

Tommy Mesa, cello