The Musicians Taking the Fight for Trans Lives to Church

The story behind Trans Requiem. The story behind “Trans Requiem.” Edit Andrew Yee performing at the premiere of “Trans Requiem” at Trinity Church on September 18, 2025.(Trinity Church / YouTube) In the moments before the September premiere of composer-cellist Andrew Yee’s Trans Requiem (a recording of which was just released on New Amsterdam Records), the sanctuary of New York City’s Trinity Church was resonant with tuning instruments—interspersed with a beeping metal detector. That sound felt, to me, like a reminder both of relative safety and potential danger. Earlier, when I arrived at the church, I had felt relieved to see no protesters. But then I felt silly. Surely, I thought, a classical concert would be niche enough to go under the radar. Still, I reminded myself, this was a large