Mercer & Barker are pleased to announce the following two performance artistes from the Croatian National Theatre and The Croatian Busina Brass Quintet

Željko Kertez

 Željko Kertez, tuba, was born in Varaždin. He finished high school in Varaždin in the class of prof. S. Rukljic. He graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of prof. Šime Vulelija. He has won several first prizes at regional and national competitions. As a student, he auditioned for the position of tubist with the Central European Initiative Orchestra (CEI Orchestra) and the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra. Since 2005 he has been the solo tubist of the HNK Opera Orchestra in Zagreb and the conductor of the City Wind Orchestra in Kutina.

In August 2010, he was invited to be a lecturer at the International Summer School Orchestra Camp in Portorož, organized by the University Wind Orchestra Ljubljana.
During and after his studies, he studied with eminent soloists Mel Culbertson, Jens Bjorn Larssen, Walter Hilgers, Ben Van Dk and others.

He performed as a soloist with the Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Zagreb, the Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces, and especially the performance with the Tokai Sagami
Orchestra in Japan in the summer of 2013.
Since 2014, he has also been a guest professor at the English Brass Academy in the UK and Japan.
Željko Kertez
Busina

Ivan Bošnjak

Ivan Bošnjak, trombone, was born in 1981 in Osijek. He started his first trombone lessons with his father at the age of 11, and then continued his music education at the Ivan Lukacic Music School in Šibenik in the class of prof. Mihajlo Bošnjak, where he graduated in 2000. During his schooling, he won a number of awards, among which the 1st prize at the 38th National Competition of Pupils of Music and Dance in Rijeka is certainly the most important. After graduation, he enrolled at the Music Academy  in Lovran, where he studied in the class of Branimir Slokar and Uroš Polanc. During his studies he on 1st prize at the International Music Competition held in Alice bel Colle in Italy, gave solo performances throughout Croatia, and appeared as a soloist with the
Handel's Akademie Salzburg (Austria) on several occasions. In 2003, while still a student, he auditioned for the position of solo trombonist in the Opera Orchestra of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb and won the position. He graduated from the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb in 2005, with excellent grades and a master’s degree in music. Ivan is the founder and president of the Croatian Association of Trombonists and Tubists - Busina. Turkey, Germany, Israel, Georgia, Slovenia, Israel, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania and Croatia.
In 2017, accompanied by the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra in Novi ad, he performed the European premiere of E. Ewazen Shadowcatcher’s work (version for quintet and symphony orchestra).
He was also engaged in pedagogical work as a professor of Music at the Private Gymnasium Marul in Zagreb. He has been invited several times as a guest lecturer at the International Summer Camp for Young Musicians Orkesterkam in Slovenia. As a guest professor, he has also lectured at US
Universities (Texas State University, University of Memphis, West Michigan University, Grand Valley University), Japan (Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, English Brass Academy in Japan),   UK (English Brass Academy). He is currently employed as a solo trombonist with the Zagreb Opera
Orchestra, and is a soloist with the No Borders Orchestra, which brings together the best musicians from the former state. He is the vice-president of the Association of Croatian Chamber and Orchestral Musicians - HUOKU, the largest association that brings together and takes care of the status of professional musicians in Croatia. He is the artistic director of the Summer
Music Academy in Vodice, where he teaches together with the world’s leading soloists. (musicacademycroatia.com). He is an artist for and plays exclusively on trombones made by Antoine
Courtois, part of Buffet Crampon group, and is an artist for a UK mouthpieces brand Mercer&Barker.

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