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Tan Dun, Patrick Messina, Lei Jia, and the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra Concert

Nightingale · Firebird · Three Lotuses

A Symphonic Fairy Tale by Tan Dun and Stravinsky

Conductor: Tan Dun

Soprano: Lei Jia

Clarinet: Patrick Messina

Programs:

Igor Stravinsky: Symphonic Poem ‘The Nightingale’

Tan Dun: Clarinet Concerto ‘Three Lotuses in the Zen Garden’（China Premiere）

— Intermission —

Tan Dun: Deer of Nine Colours′

Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird (1919)

* Program is subject to change.

Conductor/Composer: Tan Dun

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. He is the winner of today’s most prestigious honors, including the Grammy Award, Academy Award, Grawemeyer and Shostakovich Award; the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France (Chevalier); the Bach Prize; Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, the 50th Istanbul Music Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 1st Beethoven Friendship Award. Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. He is currently the Dean of Bard College Conservatory of Music.

As a conductor of innovative programs around the world, he has led the China tours of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Japan’s NHK Symphony. He led the Orchestre National de Lyon in a six-city tour; a four-city tour of Switzerland and Belgium with the Guangzhou Symphony; and conducted the RAI National Symphony, the Oslo and Hong Kong Philharmonics, and the Melbourne Symphony, where he was named Artistic Ambassador. Previous season highlights include conducting the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestra Philharmonique de Radio France, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also serves as the Honorary Artistic Consultant of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

Tan Dun records for Decca and has previously released albums with Sony Classical, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Opus Arte, BIS, and Naxos. In 2016, Tan Dun conducted the grand opening celebration of Disneyland Shanghai which was broadcast to a record-breaking audience worldwide. In 2020, his new work “Prayer and Blessing” was also live streamed and subsequently broadcast worldwide by UNESCO. In 2019, Tan Dun was invited to become the global music ambassador for the 250th anniversary celebration of Beethoven. Following the designation, in August 2024 at the Rheingau Music Festival, Tan Dun conducted the World Youth Choir and the German National Youth Orchestra, in the world premiere of his Choral Concerto 'Nine' alongside Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Beethoven’s 9th. Tan Dun then took the program on a nine-city tour across Europe and Australia including performances at the Concertgebouw and Elbphilharmonie Halls. Choral Concerto 'Nine' was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in London, the BTHV2020 Festival and Deutsche Welle, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Tan Dun’s recordings have garnered many accolades, including a Grammy Award (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and nomination (The First Emperor; Marco Polo; Pipa Concerto), Japan’s Recording Academy Award for Best Contemporary Music CD (Water Passion after St. Matthew), and the BBC’s Best Orchestral Album (Death and Fire).

Soprano: Lei Jia

Doctor of Fine Arts, renowned vocalist, professor and doctoral supervisor at the China Conservatory of Music, Young Changjiang Scholar of the Ministry of Education, and Young Beijing Scholar. Delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and Vice Chairperson of the Chinese Musicians' Association. Recipient of the Special Government Allowance of the State Council.

In terms of artistic achievements, she has received numerous national-level awards, including the Gold Award of the National Youth Singing Competition, the Gold Award of the Golden Bell Award, the Five-One Project Award, the First Prize of the National Military Art Gala, the Plum Blossom Prize for Chinese Theatre, and the Wenhua Performance Award. In the field of stage arts, she has performed in numerous operas and musicals, such as The White-Haired Girl, The Party's Daughter, Ballad of the Canal, Mulan, Farewell to Cambridge, Snow-White Pigeons, Mizhi Women and Suide Men, The Border Town, Azaleas, and more. In terms of vocal works, her representative pieces include the vocal concerto The Deer of Nine Colors, and the songs Reed Flowers, Rest Assured, Motherland!, and The World.

For many years, Lei Jia has been dedicated to the in-depth study of traditional Chinese music. She has performed Chinese folk songs at international venues such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the United States and the Golden Hall in Vienna, earning her the reputation among the international music community as "the most Chinese voice." In 2008, she recorded the collection Songs of China's 56 Ethnic Groups, which was presented as a "cultural national gift for the Olympics," singing folk songs from all 56 ethnic groups by herself. Since 2017, she has organized the concert series A Longstanding Heritage: A Journey to the Roots, bringing new vitality to ancient folk songs. Since 2024, Lei Jia has led faculty and students from the China Conservatory of Music on a national tour of The Poetry of Time – A Crossover Fusion Concert of Classical Poetry, exploring innovative pathways for integrating traditional culture with modern interpretation. She has also performed on numerous national stages, such as the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the SCO Summit in Qingdao, the APEC Gala Evening, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the centenary of the Communist Party of China, telling Chinese stories through her singing.

In the field of academic research, Lei Jia has led and participated in multiple projects funded by the National Social Science Fund and the National Arts Fund, focusing on theoretical research and creative work in Chinese vocal music.

Lei Jia is currently also appointed as a doctoral supervisor at Peking University, the Chinese National Academy of Arts, Fujian Normal University, Zhejiang Normal University, and Macau University of Science and Technology; as an "Industry Master" at Xiamen University; and as a Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Senior Research Fellow at the He Luting Advanced Research Institute of Chinese Music at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Since 2013, she has served as a judge for national vocal music competitions such as the Golden Bell Award, and in 2023, she served as a final-round judge for the Plum Blossom Prize for Chinese Theatre. In 2019, she launched the "Shenzhen Vocal Music Season · China Vocal Music Talent Development Program," which has been successfully held for four editions, building momentum for the cultivation of Chinese vocal music talent.

Clarinet: Patrick Messina

“The Magic Clarinet” — Yehudi Menuhin

Patrick Messina is widely recognized by orchestras and audiences as one of the leading clarinettists of his generation. In 2003, he was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Orchestre National de France under the direction of Kurt Masur.

A sought-after soloist, Patrick Messina has appeared with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Philharmonie der Nationen, the Tokyo Kioi Sinfonietta, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, the Zürich Chamber Orchestra and many others, under the direction of Riccardo Muti, Trevor Pinnock, Bernard Haitink, Yehudi Menuhin, Tan Dun, Daniele Gatti, Jaap van Zweden, Josep Vicent, John Axelrod and Kristjan Järvi.

In 2026, he had the immense honour of giving the world premiere of Tan Dun’s clarinet concerto Three Lotuses in the Zen Garden with the Orchestre National de France under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru.

An avid chamber musician, Messina regularly performs with distinguished artists including Edita Gruberová, Daniel Hope, Bruno Giuranna, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Garrick Ohlsson, Roger Muraro, Philippe Bianconi, Kian Soltani, Haochen Zhang and many others, as well as with renowned ensembles including the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin, the Beaux Arts Trio and the Vogler, Parker, Hermès, Diotima, Debussy, Parisii, Aron, Élysées and Fine Arts Quartets.

He has appeared at many of the world’s leading festivals, including Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Gstaad, Spoleto, Savannah, Pablo Casals, Istanbul, Santa Fe, Lavaux Classic, Menton, Berlioz and Messiaen au Pays de la Meije.

Patrick Messina is Professor at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he has been a regular visiting professor since 2011.