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 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.