light through dusting
   handprints left on glass

   shallow curves and unknown faces
   touched and taken

   spent and pulled apart
   placed through motion.

   shadows    reflections
       imprinted
               holding fast

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Thea Mesirow is an NYC-based cellist, composer, and writer. She is a member of The Nouveau Classical Project, a founding member of CMA grant recipients Quartet121, and one-half of Berrow Duo. Hailed as “hypnotic” and “engaging” by Cleveland Classical, Berrow Duo has been presented by Montreal Contemporary Music Lab, the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project, the 2018 NYU Music Conference, the SENSE Concert Series, and the Mise-En Place Curator Series. Quartet121, a string quartet dedicated to the performance of new works, is supported by the Alice M. Ditson Fund and Chamber Music America, and has performed at venues such as Tenri Cultural Institute and the Banff Centre, among others. As a soloist and chamber musician she has worked with composers such as Antoine Bueger, Reiko Füting, Michael Pisaro, and Sofia Gubaidulina and regularly performs at venues throughout New York City including Roulette, Lincoln Center Atrium, and National Sawdust. Her 2019/2020 season included the Actualizing Communities project, performed in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Dusseldorf. Created in collaboration with composer and performer Aaron Foster Breilyn, the Actualizing Communities project is an attempt to demonstrate the effect that community, audience, and space have on the performance of experimental music. A cellist who began her studies in public school music programs, Thea is passionate about music education and teaches with the Washington Heights Community Conservatory as well as holding a private studio. Her writing focuses on essays and short stories and can be found in the Los Angeles Times. Thea studied cello with Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick at California Institute of the Arts and completed her Masters at the Manhattan School of Music in May of 2017 where she studied with Fred Sherry.

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