Gretchen Wallbrunn was born in Gainesville, Florida. She received violin lessons from Ruth Posselt and later studied with Vartan Manoogian at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1984.

She has taken courses with Joseph Silverstein, Charles Castleman and the Tokyo String Quartet. Ms Wallbrunn is a prize winner of several competitions in America. As a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (at the age of sixteen) and the Wisconsin and Gainesville Chamber Orchestras, she has given numerous concerts. She has been a member of the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn since 1987.