Wagner Mayer is part of the fourth generation of musicians in his family. As a child, his first teachers were his father and the master of the band of his neighborhood, in Belo Horizonte. At sixteen, he began studying trombone with Paulo Lacerda in Clóvis Salgado Foundation, carrying out his studies at Minas Gerais Federal University (UFMG).

From 1990 to 2007, he joined Minas Gerais Symphony, holding the position of Principal Trombone in 1995. In 1992, he won the Young Soloists contest of Porto Alegre Symphony, receiving the invitation to perform as a soloist with the same orchestra and with the São Paulo State Symphony (Osesp), both under the baton of Eleazar de Carvalho.

Between 1999 and 2003, he toured Brazil, Japan and Europe with the group Skank, a pop rock band from Minas Gerais. He participated in several courses with Radegundis Feitosa and Wagner Polistchuck, among others.