Praised by the Kansas City Star for her “out of this world playing and welcoming and friendly demeanor,” pioneering Musician and American Violinist Destiny Ann Mermagen is the first-ever artist, alongside pianist Heather Adelsberger, to record and release the complete works of Bouquet Américain by Henri Vieuxtemps — A collection of witty and virtuosic pieces based on familiar folk melodies, written in the classical music tradition with a charming nod to American Fiddling. These works are featured on her 2018 world premiere album, Classical Cowgirl ~ Bach to Barn Burners™.

As the winner of international competitions and performance awards, Destiny Ann has appeared as violin soloist and chamber musician in many prestigious venues across the United States, in Russia, Prague, and elsewhere in Europe. Regional performance concert halls include Kennedy Center stages, Strathmore Hall, and New York City's Carnegie Hall. A native of Rapid City, South Dakota, Destiny Ann performed regularly with the Black Hills Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. During the summer of 2002, Destiny Ann was selected on full-scholarship to participate in the National Symphony Orchestra's Summer Music Institute. In, 2003, she was a featured soloist at the American String Teachers Association Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Throughout the last two decades, Destiny Ann has been involved in various musical and educational productions around the world, including those with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Virginia Chamber Orchestra, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Peabody Conservatory, University of Maryland School of Music, The Catholic University of America, and the Kansas City Symphony.

As a chamber musician, Destiny Ann worked in conjunction with DreamWorks Studios and Paramount Pictures for a promotional event for Joe Wright's movie, "The Soloist." She is also featured in the PBS Documentary Partisan Pictures film, Defiant Requiem: Voices of Resistance, both in the 2006 performance in Terezín, Czech Republic, and the chamber music soundtrack recorded in 2012. In 2011, Destiny Ann was a featured soloist at the 65th Annual International Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL, with the ASTA Grand Champion winners Rapid City Central Chamber Orchestra. She was also a featured guest performer at the 2013 IDRS Conference in Los Angeles, CA, where she performed Paganini's Duos for Bassoon and Violin.

Destiny Ann especially loves playing chamber music with her husband, 'cellist Michael Mermagen. Most recently, they were featured in a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the St. Louis Church Concert Series. As concertmaster and soloist for the orchestra, Destiny Ann has had the pleasure of collaborating with soprano soloist Jessica Rivera in works for violin, voice, and orchestra, and was also the featured soloist in Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

In 2015, Destiny Ann received the Live Positive award, given for acts of kindness. She donated the $10,000 cash prize to Washington, D.C.'s Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where she volunteered her time giving musical performances. As a current resident of Prairie Village, KS, Destiny Ann now volunteers at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Missouri.

During her time in Washington, D.C., Destiny Ann received her Master of Music Degree on full-scholarship with distinguished violinists & Professors Jody Gatwood & Luis Haza. Her studies also included working with the esteemed Elisabeth Adkins, Associate Concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra & Linda Schroeder of the National Symphony Orchestra. Other notable teachers include Espen Lilleslåtten, who served as concertmaster for 15 years of the Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester, as well as summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival with renowned teachers Paul Kantor and Sylvia Rosenberg.

As a passionate proponent and grateful product of early music education, Destiny Ann began playing violin in elementary school under the direction of Coral White. She continued her studies in high school with Bruce and Carol Knowles. Thankful for the teachers and mentors who have guided her throughout life and in music, Destiny Ann similarly strives to ensure that her students have a positive and enriching musical experience. She has taught and given masterclasses for schools all across the United States, and also served as Faculty Violin Instructor for the string program of the Coastal Youth Symphony of Georgia. In 2018, Destiny Ann was a founding member of Village Players—now known as Prairie Classical—a chamber ensemble that endeavors to provide world-class performance opportunities for youth and adults alike. She also holds a yearly Violin Camp with Destiny that features notable violinists such as Hilary Hahn, Gil Shaham, Nic McGegan, Madeline Adkins and Jun Iwasaki.
In recognition of her spirited cowgirl roots and in a successful performance that can only be described as a barn-burner, Destiny Ann was quoted in the Washington Post as "endearingly coltish." Fittingly so, she currently plays with her favorite "Horseshoe" bow made by distinguished bowmaker Donald M. Cohen of Alexandria, VA, and an over 300-year-old violin from Italy.
Destiny is Announcer-Producer of Evening Classical for Kansas Public Radio and can be heard Monday - Thursday from 7 - 9 pm CDT.