After completing his education at the Conservatory Maribor’s Artistic Gymnasium, Nejc Merc continued his studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. In 2014, he graduated with honors and special commendation (Summa Cum Laude diploma) under the tutelage of Professor Darko Rošker. During his studies, he participated in several solo and chamber competitions, both national and international, achieving outstanding results.
As a soloist, he has performed with the Academy of Music Orchestra in Ljubljana, Brass Band Slovenia, Brassimo Brass Ensemble, Stadkapelle Deutschlandsberg, and other orchestras in Slovenia, Austria, and Croatia. He regularly collaborates with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, occasionally with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the Slovenian Philharmonic Brass Ensemble and the Orchestra of the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Maribor. As a student, he also collaborated with the Symphony Orchestra and Big Band of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He is a member of the AGIS Euphonium Quartet and the Brassimo Brass Ensemble.
He conducts summer schools, seminars, solo concerts, and performances with various chamber groups both domestically and internationally. Additionally, he serves as a jury member and assists in preparing propositions for various international competitions. As a studio musician, he records and participates in genre-diverse projects (with over 20 recorded albums and three vinyl records). In 2021, he released his first solo audio album titled “Mercphonium.”
Nejc plays the Besson Prestige Euphonium. Together with internationally renowned brass instrument manufacturers Lechner, he developed and plays his own Bellfront Baritone model, the Fritzi.
He is a recipient of the Student Prešeren Award. Since 2013, he has been employed at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Maribor, where he directs the GŠ Center wind orchestra. Since 2017, he has also been teaching at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. His students have achieved exceptional results in national and international competitions, passed entrance exams at various prestigious universities across Europe, and successfully auditioned for the wind orchestras of the Slovenian Armed Forces and Slovenian Police.