Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Julian Wachner
Julian James Wachner (born September 23, 1969) is an American choral conductor, composer 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. In 2020, Wachner was appointed Professor of Music and the Arts at the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea. His employment with Trinity Wall Street was terminated in 2022 due to unspecified objectionable conduct.
In August 2025, Wachner was arrested and charged with ten counts of possession of child sex abuse material and one count of cocaine possession, following an investigation that began after cryptocurrency transactions linked him to a dark web child sex abuse site. At the time of his arrest, Wachner was working as a fourth grade teacher at Invent Learning Hub, a charter school in Indianapolis. He was also the conductor for Foundation Concerto Vocale, an American baroque musical foundation. Following the charges, the Concerto Vocale Foundation terminated its relationship with Wachner. The German boys' choir Tölzer Knabenchor, with which Wachner had recently been associated, also publicly distanced itself from Wachner following his arrest and urged parents and choirboys to have no contact with him.
Julian Wachner was born in 1969 in Hollywood, CA into a musical household. His mother, Mary Spire, was a pianist, and his former stepfather, Robert Cole, was a conductor. Wachner began cello and piano lessons at age 4 at the University of Southern California, and from age 9 to 13, Wachner studied composition in New York at the Saint Thomas Choir School under Gerre Hancock.
Wachner later attended the Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he studied with Lukas Foss, Theodore Antoniou, David Hoose and Marjorie Merryman. While a student there, he was appointed the University Organist and Choirmaster at Marsh Chapel. He graduated in 1996 with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in composition and orchestral conducting and taught as an Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at BU's School of Theology. From 1999 to 2002, he directed the Young Artists Composition Program at the Tanglewood Institute.
During his tenure at BU, Wachner also headed multiple Boston-area arts institutions. In 1995, he and Peter Watchorn founded the Boston Bach Ensemble, a period instrument orchestra and choir. Their recording of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, released in 2001, helped launch Watchorn's Musica Omnia label in 1998. Wachner also served as Director of the Back Bay Chorale, releasing a CD of works by Benjamin Britten with the ensemble in 2001. From 1996 to 2006, he was Director of the Providence Singers in Providence, RI. In 1999 he conducted the premier performance of The Magdalene Passion, by composer Elaine Bearer, with the Providence Singers, an hour-long oratorio with five soloists, chorus, organ and chamber orchestra.
Wachner moved to Montreal in 2001 to become an associate professor at McGill University's Schulich School of Music, a post he held until 2011. As associate professor, Wachner served as the principal conductor of Opera McGill and occasionally conducted the McGill Symphony and Contemporary Music Ensemble. He also founded and directed the Schulich Singers, a chamber choir that performs repertoire spanning all musical periods. While in Montreal, Wachner also founded and directed the Bach-Academie de Montréal (now the Montreal Bach Festival) and served as Director of Music of the Presbyterian Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul.
In 2008, Wachner returned to the United States to direct the Washington Chorus. The Chorus released a CD of Christmas carols in 2010, featuring several arrangements by Wachner himself. Under Wachner's direction, the Chorus also performed with the Rolling Stones in the final concert of their "50 and Counting" tour in 2013.
Wachner was appointed Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street in 2011, placing him at the podium of both the church's choir and baroque orchestra. In his first season there, he established NOVUS NY, a contemporary music ensemble. His 2012 recording of Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra was nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance. Wachner recorded five albums with the ensembles of Trinity Wall Street, 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.
Hub AI
Julian Wachner AI simulator
(@Julian Wachner_simulator)
Julian Wachner
Julian James Wachner (born September 23, 1969) is an American choral conductor, composer 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. In 2020, Wachner was appointed Professor of Music and the Arts at the General Theological Seminary in Chelsea. His employment with Trinity Wall Street was terminated in 2022 due to unspecified objectionable conduct.
In August 2025, Wachner was arrested and charged with ten counts of possession of child sex abuse material and one count of cocaine possession, following an investigation that began after cryptocurrency transactions linked him to a dark web child sex abuse site. At the time of his arrest, Wachner was working as a fourth grade teacher at Invent Learning Hub, a charter school in Indianapolis. He was also the conductor for Foundation Concerto Vocale, an American baroque musical foundation. Following the charges, the Concerto Vocale Foundation terminated its relationship with Wachner. The German boys' choir Tölzer Knabenchor, with which Wachner had recently been associated, also publicly distanced itself from Wachner following his arrest and urged parents and choirboys to have no contact with him.
Julian Wachner was born in 1969 in Hollywood, CA into a musical household. His mother, Mary Spire, was a pianist, and his former stepfather, Robert Cole, was a conductor. Wachner began cello and piano lessons at age 4 at the University of Southern California, and from age 9 to 13, Wachner studied composition in New York at the Saint Thomas Choir School under Gerre Hancock.
Wachner later attended the Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he studied with Lukas Foss, Theodore Antoniou, David Hoose and Marjorie Merryman. While a student there, he was appointed the University Organist and Choirmaster at Marsh Chapel. He graduated in 1996 with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in composition and orchestral conducting and taught as an Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at BU's School of Theology. From 1999 to 2002, he directed the Young Artists Composition Program at the Tanglewood Institute.
During his tenure at BU, Wachner also headed multiple Boston-area arts institutions. In 1995, he and Peter Watchorn founded the Boston Bach Ensemble, a period instrument orchestra and choir. Their recording of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, released in 2001, helped launch Watchorn's Musica Omnia label in 1998. Wachner also served as Director of the Back Bay Chorale, releasing a CD of works by Benjamin Britten with the ensemble in 2001. From 1996 to 2006, he was Director of the Providence Singers in Providence, RI. In 1999 he conducted the premier performance of The Magdalene Passion, by composer Elaine Bearer, with the Providence Singers, an hour-long oratorio with five soloists, chorus, organ and chamber orchestra.
Wachner moved to Montreal in 2001 to become an associate professor at McGill University's Schulich School of Music, a post he held until 2011. As associate professor, Wachner served as the principal conductor of Opera McGill and occasionally conducted the McGill Symphony and Contemporary Music Ensemble. He also founded and directed the Schulich Singers, a chamber choir that performs repertoire spanning all musical periods. While in Montreal, Wachner also founded and directed the Bach-Academie de Montréal (now the Montreal Bach Festival) and served as Director of Music of the Presbyterian Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul.
In 2008, Wachner returned to the United States to direct the Washington Chorus. The Chorus released a CD of Christmas carols in 2010, featuring several arrangements by Wachner himself. Under Wachner's direction, the Chorus also performed with the Rolling Stones in the final concert of their "50 and Counting" tour in 2013.
Wachner was appointed Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street in 2011, placing him at the podium of both the church's choir and baroque orchestra. In his first season there, he established NOVUS NY, a contemporary music ensemble. His 2012 recording of Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra was nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance. Wachner recorded five albums with the ensembles of Trinity Wall Street, 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.