A director of music is suspended in New York

A director of music is suspended in New York

News

norman lebrecht

March 13, 2022

The wealthy church of Trinity Wall Street has placed its director of music, Julian Wachner, on leave while it examines one allegation of sexual misconduct against him, according to the New York Times.

Wachner, 52, has been director of music at Trinity for 11 years.

He denies the allegation, which was made by a former Juilliard employee and dates from 2014.

Wachner is a widely regarded scholar and interpreter of early music with a long list of engagements across the US . He was shortlisted for artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival.

UPDATE: He’s fired.

Comments

  • Couperin says:

    The accusers Instagram has all the proof including emails, messages and accounts of former HR of Juilliard allegedly laughing at the accuser and Trinity employees saying “Well you know how Julian is.” Juilliard banned him from conducting there long ago. So the accusation is certainly credible.

  • waw says:

    “The wealthy church of Trinity Wall Street…”

    That’s an understatement, it owns a portfolio of real estate worth $6 Billion.

    Talking about early investment:

    King William III gave the parish it’s charter to purchase land in lower Manhattan in 1697.

    400 years later, better protect your assets against all potential lawsuits and liabilities.

    • Mary says:

      In other words, good luck trying to sue a $6 Billion corporation, I mean church, and getting a single penny out of them, they have the means and will to defend themselves tooth and nail for the next 400 years.

    • Steven Cohen says:

      It’s just a corporation hiding behind whatever religion passes for in the normal mind. It’s not normal to believe in someone or something nobody can prove the existence of. People like that are suffering from mental illness and require hospitalization.

      Their 501c3 designation must be taken away and the IRS has to fully AUDIT them. You file a tax return, you’re only a business!

      • Antonia says:

        “People like that”?
        Great way to divide!
        Tax religious organizations and you lose homeless shelters, drug rehabs, thrift shops, soup kitchens, the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and the most prominent means of fostering Jewish community and identity.

        I’m not sure it’s not “normal” to believe in a deity. In fact, it’s been far more normal throughout the history of humanity’s existence than not. Furthermore, all projections are that atheism will decrease as a percentage of world population by the year 2050. https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/

        The fastest-growing belief system will be Islam, which will dominate by 2050. It will probably not be moderate Islam, either, in which adherents assimilate into their countries and have the same number of children as surrounding community members. It will surely be fundamentalist Islam growing by having many wives and children and living in squalor. This type of Islam is much harsher upon atheists and anti-theists than Christianity which anti-theists are actively seeking to decrease in numbers. Good luck to future anti-theists!

        (P.S. I separate here the typical atheist, a generally “peaceful coexistence” kind of person, from anti-theists who are out to rid the world of any notion of God. Not all atheists are anti-theists.)

      • Stan Horwitz says:

        Sensible answer.
        Time to move forward.

        Yes, these are all just businesses and must file their taxes with the IRS and respective states.

        Indeed the government is DESPERATE for money needing it for all sorts of bills, projects and the like so either they “pay their fair share” in Biden’s structure or shut them down! Simple and clear.

  • Jewelyard says:

    And another one down, and another one down, another one bites the dust.

  • Bone says:

    Hopefully she will file a civil suit so there will be a court proceeding; otherwise, she waited until after the statute of limitations experience, so there will be no criminal case in SC. Certainly we all want to see the facts come out under oath in court before we rush to judgment.

    • phf655 says:

      Aside from the merits, or not, of an accusation like this being made after the passing of eight years, there are statutes of limitations for civil suits, like the one which might have been brought here, which are substantially shorter than eight years.

  • Herr Forkenspoon says:

    2014, where’s she been for the last 8 yrs.?

    • Knife says:

      Hey, Mr. Cutlery, you don’t understand anything about the subject at hand, so how about just staying out of these discussions.

    • Cindy says:

      In my own personal experience of abuse I was in therapy. It’s not easy to talk about and it takes time and the time is different for each person and the circumstance. I know 8 yrs sounds like a long time but traumatic experiences take time. I don’t know anything about this except for what I just read. I’m just saying from my own experience it took me years and it’s still difficult.

      • Karl says:

        Some people don’t think of their experience as abuse UNTIL they end up in therapy. That was the case with at least one Levine accuser. In some other cases instances of abuse have come out over “recovered memories”. In others women have withdrawn consent after the fact many years later – see the case against ballet star Yat-Sen Chang. With rules like this no man is safe from a false accusation.

        • Antonia says:

          Not true.
          Do things properly, and you won’t be accused.

          What are you doing or what have you done that you’re worried about?

          Stay away from power imbalance when making overtures. Always seek and obtain consent. Take “no” for an answer.

          How is this difficult? It takes a huge amount of burden of proof in a court to demonstrate sexual abuse.

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        This is certainly validated by my sister, a retired Clinical Psychologist who says abuse victims are usually timid, withdrawn and nervous. The complete opposite, then, of some high profile female Australian ‘victims’ who both have book deals on the boil and are very politically active.

        • Antonia says:

          I’m sure sexual predators actively look for those who will be timid and compliant people to start with. And the abuse just makes them go further into a shell of torment.

  • NYC Alum says:

    I know the accuser (Ms. P) personally and I think she exaggerated the incident a lot. She’s changed and I don’t know why she did that. I thought he just asked her out to dinner and she declined.

    • Abner Doubleday says:

      And I knew the accused personally, and this story doesn’t surprise me in the least. I suspect most people who know JW are similarly unsurprised.

    • Can You Be An Alum Of A City? says:

      Interesting. Have you reached out to Ms. P? How has she changed? Can you elaborate? What about her multiple corroborators and Juilliard’s take? What is your version of the incident? Were you there?

    • Antonia says:

      How did he ask her out to dinner?

      His hand clutching her bottom? Did he ask at the same time as he mentioned a career benefit possibility?

  • Titurel says:

    #HimToo

  • Tucker Karlsonn says:

    Why does this website have Trump begging for money advertising?

  • Walter koehler says:

    Trinity is no stranger to controversy

  • McGill Alum says:

    This is not at all surprising. I suspect more will come forward now that the gates have been opened.

  • Nah says:

    I know mary. Unfortunately she is quite unstable and a pathological liar. She is thriving on this attention

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