Born in Nice to Sicilian and Spanish parents, Patrick Messina began his career in the United States, particularly in New York in 1996 when he won First Prize at the East and West Artists International Auditions, allowing him to perform in recital at Carnegie Hall. Alongside his solo activities, he worked regularly for six years with the Metropolitan Opera of New York, under the direction of James Levine, Valery Gergiev and Leonard Slatkin.

Patrick Messina is invited to perform as soloist by prestigious ensembles such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Tan Dun, Daniele Gatti, Kristjan Järvi, Jaap Van Zweden, Mykola Dyadyura, John Axelrod and Trevor Pinnock. He also performs with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Cannes Orchestra, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France, the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, the Kioi Sinfonietta (Tokyo)... In 2010, he premiered the Concerto "Autumn Pictures" by Bechara El Khoury with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris at the Châtelet under the direction of Olari Elts. His name appears at major international festivals: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Gstaad, Spoleto, Savannah, Mitte Europa, Pablo Casals, Les Flâneries Musicales, Menton, Wissembourg, Berlioz, Pontlevoy.

A highly sought-after chamber musician, his partners include: Daniel Hope, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Simone Dinnerstein, Nicolas Stavy, François Chaplin, Edita Gruberova, Chen Reiss, Tatjana Vassiljeva, Gautier Capuçon, the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin (of the Berliner Philharmoniker), the Diotima Quartet, the Fine Arts Quartet and the Beaux-Arts Trio. In October 2012, his new album dedicated to Mozart was released, featuring notably the famous Clarinet Concerto, conducted by Riccardo Muti.

Patrick Messina began his training at the Nice Conservatory and continued his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he obtained before the age of 18 First Prizes in clarinet and chamber music in the class of Guy Deplus and then Michel Arrignon. Meanwhile, he participated in the World Youth Orchestra (dir: W. Rowicki) and the Orchestre Français des Jeunes (dir: E. Krivine). In 1992, he became a laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. Thanks to a Lavoisier scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he moved to the United States to further his training at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Franklin Cohen. A year later, with a 1st Prize from the East & West Artists International Auditions in New York, he was invited for a recital at the Weill Recital Hall of the famous Carnegie Hall. He then achieved success in the most prestigious American competitions including the Houston Ima Hogg Young Artists Competition (1st Prize, 1996) and the Heida Hermanns International Young Artists Competitions (1st Prize, 1998). Patrick Messina has been, since 2003, Principal Clarinet of the Orchestre National de France. Since 2004, he has been artistic advisor for Buffet-Crampon. And since March 2010, Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Patrick teaches at the École Normale Cortot in Paris.