$31 ADULTS
$28 NCMA MEMBERS
$20 STUDENTS
Friday, October 16, 2026
2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
SECU Auditorium - NC Museum of Art
2110 Blue Ridge Rd. Raleigh, NC 27607
CELLO
A Steinway Artist, Kern has performed with leading orchestras around the world, including the National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She serves on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and is the Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival.
TOMMY MESA
OLGA KERN
STEINWAY ARTIST
As part of the North Carolina Museum of Art’s popular Sights & Sounds on Sundays series, the opportunity to present Olga & Tommy the day before their Washington D.C. concert led us to offer this as a Friday matinee at 2pm and again Friday night at 7:00. Season subscribers may choose which concert they wish to attend and individual public tickets are available for each performance. ASK ABOUT GROUP RATES by emailing Kaine@ChamberMusicRaleigh.org or calling 919.821.2030.
PIANO
The Ellen Black Winston Concert Fund supports one concert in each of Chamber Music Raleigh's seasons. As one of the company's founders in 1942, Mrs. Winston organized an endowment fund for the organization in 1972 and made a bequest establishing the concert fund upon her death in 1984. She left a legacy that continues to bring music and education to the capital city.
A social worker, a writer and editor, she also served as U.S. commissioner of welfare in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Read more about her amazing career by clicking here.
The North Carolina-based artists in the Sights & Sounds Series appear as part of collaborative effort with the North Carolina
Arts Council and 78 local arts agencies statewide. Artists are selected by CMR's programming committee.
Two internationally celebrated artists come together for a rare cello-and-piano recital at the North Carolina Museum of Art, pairing the expressive depth of Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa with the brilliance and power of Russian-American pianist Olga Kern.
Tommy Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic and compelling cellists of his generation. A recipient of Lincoln Center’s 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Organization’s 2023 Medal of Excellence, Mesa has appeared as soloist 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, San Antonio, and Santa Barbara. He has also performed at the Supreme Court of the United States on four occasions.
Dr. Mesa is known for his commitment to living composers and emotionally direct performance. He gave the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s cello concerto Divided in 2022 and has remained its exclusive soloist, performing the work in major halls across the United States and Brazil, including Carnegie Hall. His recording of Divided was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2023.
Olga Kern is recognized as one of the great pianists of her generation, admired for her vivid stage presence, dazzling technique, and deeply musical interpretations. Born into a family of musicians, she began studying piano at age five and won first prize at the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at seventeen. In 2001, she launched her U.S. career with a historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.