It is three years this month since Julian Wachner was fired as director of music at Trinity Church Wall Street, following a single allegation of sexual misconduct. Wachner was also dismissed from his teaching post at the Juilliard School of Music, where his accuser was employed at the time.
Wachner sued Juilliard for wrongful dismissal and defamation, arguing that the school never investigated the allegation against him and made false statements about him. That case was dismissedwith prejudice by the New York Supreme Court, a legal term that usially means the party being sued wasin the wrong and agreed to make a financial settlement.
Since then, Wachner’s accuser has been required to pay damages for reputational injury she caused various other victims after making unfounded allegations against them. A Court in the State of Georgia ordered her to pay $117,892 in damages. During the trial, a witness testified that the accuser had made numerous false claims against multiple men, including Wachner, some resulting in financial gain.
As a result of these outcomes, Wachner is now back in musical employment. The Concerto Vocale Foundation, a body dedicated to historically informed performances of the works of J S Bach, has issued this statement: Having analyzed Plaintiff’s pleadings and the evidentiary record, and considering the eventual judicial outcome, the Concerto Vocale Foundation believes Maestro Wachner was the victim of the false and malicious accusations. After due diligence reviewing the public record, it is the judgment of the Concerto Vocale Foundation that Wachner has been vindicated.
This week, Wachner is in Munich recording Bach cantatas BWV 8, 11, 51, 78 with the Tölzer Knabenchor and the period-instrument ensemble Concerto München. The allegations that cost him two jobs in New York brought him to the point of financial ruin. ‘I was working as a short-order cook,’ he told Slippedisc. ‘I recently started teaching 5th and 6th grade math, which I enjoy. I play in a rock band in Indiannapolis.’
After three days of recording, he will lead a church performance of Bach cantatas in Munich on Thursday. ‘My whole life has been to bring operatic drama to these works,’ Wachner says.
We asked Juilliard if his accuser is still working for the School. They declined to reply.
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