Trinity Wall Street, the powerful New York church, said Monday it had fired its music director after receiving an allegation of sexual misconduct against him.
On Saturday, Trinity said it had placed Julian Wachner, the acclaimed director of music and arts, on leave while it was investigating the allegation, which stemmed from a 2014 incident. But in a statement on Monday, the church’s rector, Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, that the Church had fired Mr. Wachner.
“The investigation is ongoing, and so the investigator has not yet made any decision as to the veracity of the 2014 allegations,” the church’s statement said. “However, based on recent information, we have concluded that Julian has continued to behave in ways that are not in line with our expectations of anyone in leadership roles. For this reason, Trinity has decided to end Julian’s employment with Trinity effective today.”
The allegation was made by a former Juilliard School employee, Mary Poole. Ms. Poole said in an interview with DailyExpertNews that at a music festival in Aiken, SC, in 2014, Mr. Wachner pushed her against a wall, groped and kissed her, and that he ignored her demand to stop.
Mr Wachner denies the allegations. His attorney, Andrew T. Miltenberg, said in an email Monday: “We are extremely disappointed that Trinity has acted before a thorough investigation has been completed. Denying Mr. Wachner the benefit of the full story is the antithesis of due process and allows distortions to prevail over the truth.”
Two people interviewed by The Times – a friend of Mrs Poole’s and a former colleague – recalled hearing Mrs Poole describe the details of the meeting with Mr Wachner at the time. Ms. Poole said she did not report the incident to police because she was in another state and insisted on being on time during a tour. She did report the incident to Juilliard, who on Saturday said it was aware of “unacceptable behavior” by Mr Wachner in 2014 and that it had not rehired him.
Mr. Miltenberg, Mr. Wachner’s attorney, said Monday that “Juilliard’s statement, which Mr. Wachner first saw in DailyExpertNews, is flawed and incorrect.” He added that “Mr. Wachner continues to dispute the nearly decade-old, misleading and untrue allegations against him.”
In an interview on Monday, Ms. Poole’s decision to fire Mr. Wachner, adding that it was important that the Church conduct a thorough investigation into his conduct.
“I hope this is the start of a bigger conversation about how we deal with harassment in classical music, and how conductors are often kept on a pedestal,” she said. “Everyone should be held accountable for the same kind of appropriate behavior in the workplace.”
Mr. Wachner, conductor and composer, led Trinity’s acclaimed choir, baroque orchestra and contemporary music ensemble, which together present hundreds of events each year. These forces are perhaps best known for their annual performances of Handel’s “Messiah”; in 2018, The Times credited Mr. Wachner as the leader of “the best ‘Messiah’ in New York.”
In recent months, he has emerged as one of three finalists to serve as the next artistic director of the famed Oregon Bach Festival. The festival has not responded to requests for comment.