Trinity Church Fires Its Music Director

Yesterday, it was reported that Trinity Wall Street Church Music Director Julian Wachner had been placed on leave as of March 1, pending investigation into abuse claims against him by a former Juilliard employee.

By the end of the day of those first reports (by The New York Times), the church had fired him. The investigation is ongoing, but Wachner’s employment is not.

“The investigator has not yet made any determination about the veracity of the 2014 allegations,” reads a message from the Rector, posted on the church's website.

“Still, we have concluded based on recent information that Julian has otherwise conducted himself in a manner that is inconsistent with our expectations of anyone who occupies a leadership position,” it continued. “For this reason, Trinity has decided to end Julian’s employment with Trinity as of today.

“We are grateful to those who have reached out to Trinity, and we are committed to providing an environment where open, honest communications and the highest standards of professionalism are the expectation, and where information suggesting that members of our community may not be meeting these expectations is acted upon promptly.”