She is a violinist born in Kentucky, USA, as the daughter of the musician Bill Frederick Wagner, who studied at the Cincinnati College Conservatory with further studies at the Yale Graduate School of Music.
After going through auditions and a trial period she was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Sir Georg Solti in 1971.
Alongside her orchestral work with the CSO she has performed as an active chamber musician with ensembles that include the Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players, Montatgnana Consort, Montagnana Trio and the Strawberry Banke String Trio. She has also participated in several music festivals.
Recordings she has performed on include Corigliano: Symphony No. 1, Wagner: Overtures and Preludes and Brahms: Violin Concerto/Sonata No. 3 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Shulamit Ran: Chamber Works by the Contemporary Chamber Players of Chicago, After Hours by Brian Culbertson, Yellowstone: The Music of Nature by Mannheim Steamroller along with Charles Argersinger – Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra and Concerts Under the Dome by various artists.
Since retiring from the CSO in the 2010s she has been a board member of the Geneva History Museum in Geneva, Illinois and the secretary of the Fox Valley Knitting Guild.
She performs here….
Sources:
- https://www.stokowski.org/Chicago_Symphony_Musicians_List.htm
- https://csoarchives.wordpress.com/tag/jennie-wagner/
- https://www.dramonline.org/performers/wagner-jennie
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/1404060-Jennie-Wagner
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jennie-wagner-mn0001211093
- https://genevahistorymuseum.org/about/