He is an associate professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Bogotá, where he teaches piano and collaborates as a pianist. He has been coordinator of the Piano and Accompaniment areas, as well as Director of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Conservatory of Music of the same institution. As a chamber musician he is founder and member of the Rachmanionff Duo (piano duo with Javier Camacho), Debussy Duo (clarinet and piano with Fredy Pinzón) and Bartok Trio (violin, clarinet and piano with Leonidas Cáceres and Fredy Pinzón). With these ensembles he has participated in international festivals (Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, United States). The Debussy Duo released the recording Contrastes, which is composed of works by composers from different latitudes and stylistic periods.

Mesa has performed as soloist under the baton of his father, maestro Fabio Mesa, with the Boyacá Symphonic Wind Band. He has also collaborated as soloist with the Bogotá Chamber Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Conservatory of Tolima and the Symphonic Band of the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia. He won first prize at the National Piano Competition in Bucaramanga in 2003. The following year, he represented Colombia at the International Piano Festival of the Universidad Industrial de Santander in Bucaramanga and that same year he played as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia.

He obtained his Master Music Degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh (USA), where he studied with David Allen Wehr and Natasha Snitkovsky. He completed his Master’s degree in Symphonic Conducting at the National University of Colombia under the guidance of Maestro Guerassim Voronkov. He began his musical studies at the Escuela Superior de Música in Tunja (his hometown) with Pilar Leyva and Jorge Zorro as his main teachers. He holds a degree in Music from the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. Raúl Mesa has conducted the Youth Orchestra of the Unimusica Foundation, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Juan N. Corpas University Foundation, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Conservatory of Tolima, the Symphonic Band and the Symphonic Orchestra of the Conservatory of the National University.