Aiden Ahuja ’25 is producing and recording a self-composed arrangement that narrates the transition from childhood to adulthood for his Senior Independent Study. Performing Arts Teacher and Jazz Director Chris Sullivan is acting as Ahuja’s adviser for the project.
Ahuja said his love for music but the limited curriculum offered at the school led him to pursue an independent study instead of a normal class.
“I wanted to pursue a Senior Independent Study because I want to pursue music in its entirety,” Ahuja said. “Since I’m not an instrumentalist, I can’t take any more classes other than music theory, which is why I wanted to do an Independent Study.”
Sullivan said he agreed to advise Ahuja because he was impressed with Ahuja’s composing and felt that his experience in jazz could lend a different perspective to the project.
“Aiden has never been in my class because he’s coming more from the classical side, whereas I teach jazz,” Sullivan said. “We’ve had a couple of sessions where it blossoms into sharing music because of that, and he’ll tell me more about some of the composers that influence him. His language is a more classical screen scoring lane, and I’m coming from more of a jazz world so that intersection is really unique.”
Ahuja said he is greatly passionate about music and is hoping to convey a story through his independent study.
“My project is telling a story through music and to create a 10-minute piece of music that hopefully illustrates a fully fleshed out and whole story,” Ahuja said. “I have really enjoyed writing music. It’s my passion so anytime I get a structured environment to do it, it’s a lot of fun.”