Patrick Messina

A French clarinettist. Kurt Masur invited him to become principal clarinet of the Orchestre National de France in 2003 and he holds the chair still. As a soloist he has played with the Houston Symphony, the Paris Chamber Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, under Muti, Haitink, Menuhin and Tan Dun. On 21 March 2026 he gave the world premiere of Tan Dun's clarinet concerto Three Lotuses in the Zen Garden, written for him, with the Orchestre National de France under Cristian Măcelaru. He teaches at the École Normale de Musique in Paris and has been a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London since 2011.