Our second spotlight interview in this year's cohort is with Emily Boyajian (she/her). Emily is a pianist, and composer. Her creation for the 2022-2023 Cedar Commissions, Transition, is an illustration of the journey that is one’s gender transition. Emily draws on her own experiences as a trans woman and explores those nuanced and dynamic experiences, creating stories that other trans people can see themselves in, too. In December, Emily spoke with Twin Cities music writer Youa Vang about the emotive possibilities of lyric-less music, encouragement to trans people to remove judgment from their self-expression, and her composition process.