'He leaves a profound legacy': Longtime OU trombone professor and player Irvin Wagner dies
Over the 75 years that Irvin Wagner played the trombone, he entertained the pope, four U.S. presidents, millions of television viewers and thousands of Oklahoma concertgoers with his musical talents, which even included playing a pair of spoons at the same time he tooted his horn.
"He could have called it after he accomplished one of the many different things he did, but he continued to do it because he really had a passion for music," said local songwriter, musician and television personality Lucas Ross.
"I would tell him, 'Irv, you're transcribing my song about a dog that thinks it's a ninja for an orchestra when you have played for royalty? What are you doing?' And he at least always came off as just as excited to do something new."
A musician, conductor, composer, arranger and longtime University of Oklahoma trombone professor, Wagner — affectionately known to most folks as "Irv" and to his students as "Doc" — died Friday of cancer. He was 86.
"Irv Wagner was a totally unique force of nature. A founding member of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, his many contributions to music and his fellow musicians are legendary. We all owe a debt to 'Doc,' and I am so lucky to have known and worked with him," said OKC Philharmonic founder and Music Director Emeritus Joel Levine in a statement.
Longtime OU professor played trombone for about 75 years
Except for a few childhood years spent in Washington state, Wagner was born and bred on the prairies of Kansas to a farming family who loved singing country and gospel music.
"We went Christmas shopping, and I saw a trombone in the window of a music store. I must have been fascinated by it some way. So, my parents went back and asked the elementary band director, 'Do you think this young man could play the trombone?' He said, 'Yeah, I think he's husky enough to do that,' so they went back to town and got it," Wagner told The Oklahoman in a 2022 interview.
"Anyway, that started it, and I just took to it and always loved it."
From that point, Wagner played the trombone for about 75 years, the rest of his life. He said he was still a relatively young player when he started developing his signature novelty act of playing his trombone and a pair of spoons at the same time.
"I saw a guy play the spoons once — it's an old folk instrument — and I just taught myself. ... You're not old enough to remember the 'Lawrence Welk (Show),' but I saw on there a guy that tied his slide to his shoelace and moved the slide around. So, I was just messing around and put my toe on it and did it that way," Wagner recalled. "I thought later to put the two together, and I did it in church camp. ... People liked it, and it just kept on growing."
What Wagner called his "trombone/spoon act" — he would cradle his trombone with his left arm and grip the slide with the bare toes of his right foot while using his hands to tap out the beat with a pair of spoons — was seen by millions of people around the world over the decades he performed it.
"Early on, I auditioned for the 'Ted Mack (& the Original) Amateur Hour' ... which was a national radio show first, then television show for years clear up into the '70s, like 'Star Search' or 'The Voice,'" he said in 2022. "So, I was on national television out of New York doing my act ... and then I've done that for the pope. I've done that for four presidents of the United States. There was one period in the '80s when I was in China, and they put it on national television in China. And then a couple of years later, I did it on national television in India.
"So, it was estimated that a quarter of the population of the Earth had seen it, as those are the most populous places on the planet."
Doc Wagner taught trombone at OU for more than 50 years
Wagner earned his bachelor's degree from McPherson College in Kansas and his master's and doctorate degrees from the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Before moving to Oklahoma, he was director of bands at McPherson College and a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and then taught at Louisiana State University and performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony.
When he joined the OU faculty in 1969, Wagner was the university's first trombone professor.
"It's been fun and a pleasure. The students are a joy, and you watch them grow and they become a part of you," Wagner said last year.
He started recruiting players from high school band programs, established the OU Trombone Choir and became a founding member of the Oklahoma Brass Quintet.
Formally the David Ross Boyd and Regents Professor of Trombone, Wagner was in his 54th year of teaching trombone at OU. He was honored with the 2020-2021 President’s Award by the Oklahoma Music Educators Association for his contributions to music education.
"Throughout his career, Doc exuded kindness, built community, conducted ensembles, performed recitals, and even played the spoons. ... He pioneered trombone choir and cultivated a worldwide network of alums and professional trombonists," said saxophone professor and OU School of Music Director Jonathan Nichol in an email to The Oklahoman.
"He leaves a profound legacy as a gifted professor, renowned artist, and generous friend to all.”
OU professor was both an international performer and an Oklahoma institution
Wagner kept the walls of his OU office papered with concert posters from Russia, China, Greece and beyond.
"I've literally played on every continent except Antarctica and been lucky to travel totally around the world," he said.
In 2019, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Trombone Association. When he served as president of the organization from 1982-84, Wagner took a sabbatical from OU and journeyed across the globe to start chapters.
But Wagner also became a central Oklahoma institution as a performer, arranger and conductor. He assembled various bands over the years to play patriotic music for the annual Independence Day celebrations in Yukon and Midwest City, and his OU Trombone Choir performed the national anthem at several OKC Thunder games.
He was a longtime member of the OKC Philharmonic until about six years ago, when he was named the music director and conductor of the long-running Oklahoma Community Orchestra.
"They're wonderful musicians. They are pursuing other careers for their livelihood, but still make great music," Wagner said.
Oklahoma Community Orchestra to play on after conductor's death
In a letter to the musicians posted on Facebook, assistant conductor Zachary Daniels said the Oklahoma Community Orchestra will play on, just as Wagner would have wanted. The orchestra will open its 2023-2024 season at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Oklahoma Christian University with a concert titled "Musical Friends," featuring music by Russian composers Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
"We didn't just lose a music director. We lost a friend, a colleague, a mentor, and a member of our musical family. Irv isn't truly gone, though. His vast numbers of students, colleagues, and those with his musical imprint will continue on in his spirit," Daniels wrote.
"Of all the lessons Irv has given me over the years, this one seems the most relevant to me now. It doesn't matter what life throws at us. We need to take a moment, analyze the situtation, right ourselves, and remember: 'The show must go on.'"
Despite fighting Stage 4 lung cancer, he said Wagner led the Irv Wagner Band in their annual Independence Day concert in Yukon, maintained his teaching post at OU and continued to direct the Oklahoma Community Orchestra up to his death.
Although he was not well enough to conduct it, Ross said Wagner still played host in May at the orchestra's long-planned tribute to former Gov. George Nigh, which celebrated the retired politician's long public service career and his work to make "Oklahoma" the state song 70 years ago.
"Irv challenged me, as he always does, and he had me sing the original Oklahoma state song that is not very singable, especially compared to what we have now. And, of course, I was like, 'Oh, Irv, I'm not really the singer to do this stuff.' But he was like, 'No, it'd be great. You can lead everybody.' I was like, 'No, well, OK, whatever you want.' And it worked out really fun, as always," recalled Ross, whom Wagner invited to be a guest performer at several Oklahoma Community Orchestra events.
"I'm really, really grateful for what he did — and what he will continue to do through music. ... When you've learned to play or sing from somebody else, that person that taught you, they continue to shine."
Wagner is survived by his three daughters — Brenda Wagner, Janet Gorton and Karen Wright — his grandchildren and other relatives. Wagner's wife of 62 years, JoAnn Wagner, died of cancer in 2021.
Services are pending.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Internationally known Oklahoma trombone player Irvin Wagner dies
