Julian Wachner

Julian James Wachner (born September 23, 1969) is an American composer, conductor, and keyboardist. From 2011 to 2022, he served as the Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street, conducting the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and NOVUS NY. Wachner recorded five albums with these ensembles, primarily for the Musica Omnia label. From 2008 to 2017, he served as the Director of The Washington Chorus. In March 2018, Wachner was named Artistic Director of the Grand Rapids Bach Festival, an affiliate of the Grand Rapids Symphony, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As a guest conductor, he has led ensembles including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Juilliard Opera, and San Francisco Opera, and has participated in festivals including the Spoleto Festival USA, Glimmerglass Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, BAM Next Wave Festival, and the New York Philharmonic Biennial. As a composer, he has published over 60 musical works (see below), many of which are sacred works for chorus. His complete choral works to date were released in two volumes by Naxos Records in 2010 and 2014. Wachner is the author, with Kevin J. Moroney, of Psalms for All People: An Inclusive-Language Resource for Praying and Singing (Church Publishing) ISBN 9781640655614.

On March 13, 2022, The New York Times reported a sexual assault allegation against Wachner, relating to a 2014 incident. Wachner had been put on leave on March 1, 2022, by Trinity Wall Street because of the allegation. He was fired on March 14. Wachner, through an attorney, denied the accusations.

In 2020, Wachner became Professor of Music and the Arts at the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea, where his wife Emily Bloemker Wachner was the seminary's Lecturer in Pastoral Theology and Director of Integrative Programs until 2020. On March 14, 2022, the General Theological Seminary removed all mentions of him from its website. Wachner's website states that he currently resides in Indianapolis with his wife and two children. Wachner told Slipped Disc that he was working as a short-order cook, teaching 5th and 6th grade math, and playing in a rock band in Indianapolis.

In 2025, "The Concerto Vocale Foundation, a body dedicated to historically informed performances of the works of J S Bach", hired Wachner, finding that he "has been vindicated". Wachner had "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 dismissed with prejudice by the New York Supreme Court, a legal term that usually means the party being sued was in 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".