Photo provided by Minnesota Music Hall of Fame “Babe” Wagner, left and “Swede” Wagner, right, play violin while their sister Oradell Wagner Schneider accompanies them on piano.

NEW ULM — Trumpeter, band leader and arranger Virgil E. C. “Swede” Wagner will be inducted into the 2026 Minnesota Music Hall of Fame (MMHF) at Turner Hall.

Known for his elite arranging skills of sometimes-complicated and involved instrumentation of top-notch, old-time band music, Wagner is the brother of 1992 MMHF inductee “Babe” Wagner.

Swede ran Babe’s band, known as the Swede Wagner Band into the 1950s after Babe passed away in 1949. Prior to that, the group was called the Babe Wagner Band Among his best-known music was making a recording of “Hot Jazz” with his brother Babe in the mid-40s.

His great nephew, David McClellan of Elk River talked about Babe.

“Stories I heard as a kid included when the silent movies came to town, Babe and Swede and my grandma (Oradell Wagner Schneider) would sit in the band pit and watch the film and compose the film soundtrack on the fly, having never seen the film,” David said. “I think that was pretty incredible for teenagers at that point. Swede was always happy to see my cousin Eric (Whitman) and I and show us what he was working on. There were lots of old musical instruments and old tube-type amps around. Swede would take turn picking them up and playing them, except the trumpet. He couldn’t play that because he had cancer in his mouth.”

McClellan said he and Eric went to Swede’s house in New Ulm for one of his last birthdays and played “Happy Birthday” for him on a coronet and trumpet.

“His face just lit up. It was like magic. He made his living playing trumpet for a long time,” said McClellan. “He got out his trumpet and tried to play it with us. His heart was in it, but he couldn’t play it like he wanted to anymore. As a kid, it was a cool moment to be a part of it, but it was crushing to see a guy who spent his life playing an instrument who couldn’t do it like he wanted to anymore.”

The bands played in many places in the Midwest.

Other groups to join the MMHOF April 10 include “Cornbread” Harris, the Chatfield Brass Band & Library, Cathy Erickson, Rick Keane, Chan Poling and the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale.

Visit https://mnmusichalloffame.org/membership/ for induction banquet tickets.