The influential Trinity Wall Street Church in New York has fired its famous music director, who is married to a female priest, after another woman accused him of sexual harassment.
Julian Wachner, 53, married to the Rev. Emily Wachner, with whom he has children, was fired from Trinity on Monday after being sent on leave on Saturday following assault charges brought by former Juilliard School employee Mary Poole.
Poole, 32, accused Wachner of pushing her against a wall at the 2014 South Carolina Music Festival, groping her and kissing her despite her urging him to stop.
An investigation into the allegations has been launched and is ongoing. However, the church’s rector, the Rev. Philip A. Jackson, announced on Monday that Trinity had fired Wachner.
“The investigation is ongoing and therefore the investigator has not yet made any conclusions about the veracity of the 2014 allegations,” the church said in a statement posted online.
“However, we have come to the conclusion, based on recent information, that Julian has otherwise behaved in ways that did not meet our expectations of anyone in a leadership position. For this reason, Trinity has decided to end Julian’s employment with Trinity as of today.
Emily Wachner directed to her attorneys when she was approached for comment about her husband’s alleged behavior.
Celebrated conductor and composer Julian Wachner (pictured in December 2010) was fired as music director of Trinity Wall Street Church in New York on Monday after a woman accused him of sexual harassment that allegedly took place in 2014 .
Former Julliard employee Mary Poole claims that Wachner pushed her against a wall at the 2014 South Carolina Music Festival, groped her and kissed her despite her urging him to stop.
Wachner is married to Emily (pictured), who serves as an Episcopal priest.
Wachner denied Poole’s allegations and, according to his lawyer, was “exceptionally disappointed” by Trinity’s decision to fire him, despite an ongoing investigation.
“We are extremely disappointed that Trinity took action before completing a thorough investigation,” attorney Andrew Miltenberg told on Monday. “Depriving Mr. Wachner of the opportunity to benefit from the full narrative is against due process of law and allows misrepresentation to triumph over truth.”
He added: “Mr. Wachner continues to challenge the misleading and false allegations made against him from a decade ago.”
However, Poole welcomed the decision and stated that it was still important that the church conduct a thorough investigation into Wachner’s alleged behavior.
“I hope this is the start of a broader conversation about how we deal with harassment in classical music and how conductors are often kept on a pedestal,” she told The New York Times. “Everyone should be held accountable for the same proper behavior in the workplace.”
The iconic church announced Wachner’s dismissal on Monday, noting that an investigation has been opened into the allegations and is ongoing.
“However, we have come to the conclusion, based on recent information, that Julian has otherwise behaved in ways that did not meet our expectations of anyone in a leadership position. For this reason, Trinity has decided to end Julian’s work with Trinity as of today,” the church said on Monday. Wachner conducting in December 2013
Poole’s allegations stem from an incident at the Juilliard in Aiken festival, which she helped organize in 2014. Wachner and the famous choir Trinity performed at the festival.
She claims that one evening Wachner approached her at the house where Juilliard’s employees were staying and asked her to bring him a drink.
As she prepared the drink, Wachner allegedly began groping and kissing her for nearly two minutes. Poole told the Times that she repeatedly asked him to stop.
Poole, who was 24 at the time of the alleged incident, said she did not report the attack to police because she was out of state and had little time due to being in the middle of a tour.
“I felt like I couldn’t defend myself,” Poole recalls, adding that she was worried about facing professional repercussions for speaking out.
She reported the incident to Juilliard, and the school reportedly vowed never to hire Wachner again.
The acclaimed music conservatory released a statement to the paper on Saturday saying: “Sexual misconduct or discrimination is not tolerated at Juilliard and we take all allegations very seriously.”
“At that time we offered Mrs Pool our full support and informed Mr Wachner that he would no longer be invited to Juilliard in the future. We haven’t had any relationship with Mr. Wachner since.
Poole posted alleged correspondence with Wachner on her social media platforms and called him “guilty” despite the ongoing investigation. In an email she allegedly sent to Wachner in March 2014, which she posted on Facebook on Sunday, Poold criticized the music director for his alleged misconduct and told him to “never repeat that kind of behavior.”
Meanwhile, Poole posted alleged correspondence with Wachner on her social media platforms and called him “guilty” despite the ongoing investigation.
In an email she allegedly sent to Wachner in March 2014, which she posted on Facebook on Sunday, Poold criticized the music director for his alleged misconduct and told him to “never repeat that kind of behavior.”
“Your behavior last night was highly inappropriate and could be considered harassment by any legal definition. Not only have you jeopardized our working relationship, you’ve put me in a terrible position. The harassment is not only disgusting, but also a violation of the law,” Poole wrote.
You are a married man and I am not interested in a romantic relationship with you. You must stop immediately and never repeat the behavior you displayed last night.”
She also shared a screenshot of what appears to be a direct message from Wachner apologizing for her behavior.
She also shared a screenshot of what appears to be a direct message from Wachner apologizing for his behavior.
‘I received your letter. Words cannot describe how sorry I am. There is no acceptable excuse. Please try to accept my apology,” the message said. It is also dated March 2014.
Miltenberg has routinely denied Poole’s allegations against his client, saying on Saturday: Poole’s outrageous allegations are categorically false and my client is looking forward to the resolution of this matter.
“Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
He added that they respect Trinity’s “decision to conduct a thorough investigation” and said on Monday that “the Juilliard School’s statement, which Mr. Wachner first saw in The New York Times, is erroneous and misguided.”
Miltenberg did not immediately respond to ‘s request for comment.
Wachner, a conductor and composer, has directed the Trinity Choir, Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble since 2011. He was responsible for representing them at hundreds of events every year.
In recent months, he was named one of three finalists as Artistic Director of the Oregon Bach Festival, who did not respond to requests for comment.
Wachner married Rev. Emily Wachner in October 2012. The couple is pictured together in a photo posted online in May 2019.
The couple appear to share two children together
In 2018, he was also credited with being the “Best ‘Messiah’ in New York.” The Trinity Ensembles perform the famous piece every year.
Wachner has also been nominated for a Grammy Award and has collaborated with world renowned organizations such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Los Angeles Opera.
He is married to the Rev. Emily Wachner, 39, who, according to her LinkedIn, most recently served as director of integrative programs and teacher of pastoral theology at New York’s General Theological Seminary.
She was appointed to her GTS positions in September 2015 and stepped down in July 2020 to “spend more time with my young kids,” according to an automated response from her GTS email. Emily and Wachner married in October 2012 and have two children.
Emily was accepted into the seminary academy after working at Trinity for over four years.