Biographies

US-based saxophonist, Nathan Mertens (he/him) currently serves as Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the University of Colorado Boulder. As an active soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Bolivia, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States. He has performed as a soloist with ensembles including the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Austin Saxophone Ensemble, Hastings Symphony Orchestra, and has played within the San Antonio Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, Fort Collins Symphony, and the Omaha Symphony.

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Previously, Mertens lived in Tokyo, Japan as a Monbukagakusho Research Scholarship recipient with the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. As such, Mertens was the first American saxophonist to formally study in Japan. Seeing that Japanese music wasn't well-known or easily accessible in the West, Mertens created the Japanese Saxophone Database to bridge that gap. While in Tokyo, he played with the Kunitachi Saxophone Ensemble, the Japan Saxophone Orchestra, Marie Kikuchi, and Emi Kondo.

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Mertens has commissioned and premiered works by composers including Lucy Armstrong, Akiro Ito, Sachie Kobayashi, Andrew Boss, Rob Buckland, and Zach Browning. He has premiered these works with many ensembles across the globe at the World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, and other concert venues. Most recently, he commissioned Anthony Greene for a work entitled, “kWEe(a)r(e),” which centers around celebrating and uplifting queer identities.

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As an educator & clinician, Mertens has been a guest artist at the Conservatorio Plurinacional de Música (Bolivia), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), and many universities and high schools throughout the United States. Mertens has previously been on the faculty at the University of Arkansas, Baylor University, and Hastings College.

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Mertens earned degrees from The University of Texas at Austin - Butler School of Music and Hastings College with Stephen Page and Debra Rhodes respectively. He completed additional studies at Kunitachi College of Music with Masato Kumoi, the Global Leaders Institute, and the Université Européenne de Saxophone. He found his artistic voice with Yamaha saxophones, D’Addario reeds, and Rousseau mouthpieces, and currently serves as an artist for these companies.