NATHAN MERTENS
Saxophonist・Teaching Artist
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Three Biography Options: Preferred Bio -- "Industry Standard" Bio -- Japanese Bio （日本語）
PREFERRED BIO
U.S.-based saxophonist Nathan Mertens (he/him) currently teaches at the University of Colorado Boulder. For Mertens, teaching the next generation of musicians is a great honor, and he is constantly reshaping the ways he teaches and mentors students. Through his past teaching and performing experiences around the world, and additional education with the Global Leaders Institute, Mertens aims to develop saxophonists who serve as socially and culturally responsible stewards of music, remaining deeply connected to their communities.
One of the core tenets of Mertens’ artistry is teaching and performing music that represents and reflects our shared world and current realities. This commitment has led him to commission and premiere 40+ works, with upcoming projects with Anthony R. Green and Zinia Chan. During the 2025–2026 school year, Mertens will embark on a recital tour with UK saxophonist Gillian Blair, perform David Maslanka’s Saxophone Quartet Concerto, present at the Midwest Clinic, premiere new commissions that blend saxophone with house/dance music, and share the stage with Japanese and American artists in a Potpourri chamber saxophone concert at Suntory Hall. Moreover, as a queer individual and a former scholar in Japan, Mertens’ performance output centers around uplifting and highlighting Japanese composers and LGBTQIA2S+ composers.
Mertens owes much of his development as both an artist and individual to the mentorship and guidance he received from Stephen Page at The University of Texas at Austin, Debra Rhodes at Hastings College, and Masato Kumoi at Kunitachi College of Music. He found artistic voice with Yamaha saxophones, D’Addario reeds, and Rousseau mouthpieces, and he now proudly represents these companies as an artist.
Premiering "kWEe(a)r(e)" by Anthony R. Green with Kyle Blake Johns and the Spectrum Ensemble at Charlotte Street
JAPANESE BIO
アメリカを拠点に活動するサクソフォーン奏者、ネイサン・マーテンスは、コロラド大学ボルダー校音楽学部サクソフォーン科准教授を務めている。ソリストおよび室内楽奏者として、日本、韓国、台湾、タイ、ボリビア、イギリス、そして全米各地で演奏活動を行っている。これまでに釜山フィルハーモニー管弦楽団、ヘイスティングス交響楽団、テキサス大学オーケストラ等と共演。また、コロラド交響楽団、サンアントニオ交響楽団、ボルダー・フィルハーモニック、アスペン音楽祭管弦楽団、オマハ交響楽団の公演にも出演している。
文部科学省（MEXT）国費外国人研究生奨学金を受給した初のアメリカ人サクソフォーン奏者として東京を拠点に活動し、国立音楽大学に留学。日本のサクソフォーン作品と教育に関する研究を行った。日本作品が欧米で十分に紹介されていない現状を受け、日本サクソフォーン・データベースを創設し、その普及と国際的架け橋となる活動を続けている。東京滞在中は国立サクソフォーンアンサンブル、日本サクソフォーンオーケストラ等と共演。
これまでに40作品以上を委嘱・初演し、世界サクソフォーン会議、北米サクソフォーン・アライアンス国際会議をはじめとする国際的舞台で発表している。デビューアルバム『Notes of Connection ― 佐藤信人 サクソフォーン室内楽作品集』は2026年秋にNavona Recordsよりリリース予定。続くアルバム『American Saxophone Concertos: New Voices and Visions』は2027年に発表予定である。これらの委嘱・録音プロジェクトは、米国国立芸術基金（National Endowment for the Arts）、Bixler Family Foundation、コロラド大学からの助成を受けている。
教育者としても国際的に活動し、ボリビア国立音楽院、ナンヤン芸術学院（シンガポール）、トリニティ・ラバン音楽院（英国）をはじめ、全米35以上の大学にてマスタークラスを行っている。門下生は国内外のコンクールや学会で活躍し、著名大学院やプロフェッショナル団体へ進学・就職している。
ヘイスティングス大学卒業。テキサス大学オースティン校にて修士号および博士号（音楽）を取得。これまでにデブラ・ロードス、スティーブン・ペイジ、雲井雅人の各氏に師事。ヤマハ、ダダリオ、ルソーの各社エンドーサー。
Performing with "Time Unfolding" with the CU Wind Symphony. Matthew Dockendorf, conductor
INDUSTRY STANDARD BIO
US based saxophonist Nathan Mertens (he/him) 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 appeared as soloist with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Austin Saxophone Ensemble, and Hastings Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Colorado Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, Aspen Festival Orchestra, and Omaha Symphony.
Previously, Mertens lived in Tokyo as a Monbukagakusho Research Scholar with the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, becoming the first American saxophonist to formally study in Japan. Recognizing that Japanese saxophone repertoire was largely inaccessible in the West, he created the Japanese Saxophone Database to bridge that gap. While in Tokyo, he performed with the Kunitachi Saxophone Ensemble, Japan Saxophone Orchestra, Marie Kikuchi, and Emi Kondo.
He has commissioned and premiered more than 40 works, presenting them internationally at the World Saxophone Congress, the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, and other venues worldwide. His debut album Notes of Connection: Saxophone Chamber Music by Nobuhito Sato will be released in Fall 2026 on Navona Records, followed by his second album American Saxophone Concertos: New Voices and Visions in late 2027. His commissioning, recording, and creative projects have been generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bixler Family Foundation, and multiple grants from the University of Colorado Boulder.
As an educator and clinician, he has appeared at the Conservatorio Plurinacional de Música (Bolivia), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), Trinity Laban Conservatoire (England), and at more than 35 universities across the United States. He previously served on the faculties of the University of Arkansas, Baylor University, and Hastings College. His studio at CU Boulder is known for cultivating artist scholars whose work spans performance, research, and community engagement, with students achieving national distinction and professional success. A detailed list of their success can be found here.
Mertens earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music and Hastings College, studying with Stephen Page and Debra Rhodes. Additional studies include Kunitachi College of Music with Masato Kumoi, the Global Leaders Institute, and the Université Européenne de Saxophone. He performs exclusively as an endorsing artist for Yamaha saxophones, D’Addario reeds, and Rousseau mouthpieces.