Absolute composition simply means a piece of music that is not meant to represent anything specific. I'm using the term here to refer to any composition of mine that was written using sheet music and isn't for a piece of media (i.e. shortfilm). When music IS written to represent something specific, it's called Programmatic Music.
I studied music composition under Dr. Joshua Bauder at University of Northwestern - St. Paul from the fall of 2021 until I graduated in the spring of 2025. Part of the requirements for the B.mus of Composition was to write and organize a senior recital. Although including pre-recorded music was an option for this recital, I decided not to for a couple reasons. 1, the method of listening to pre-recorded music in Nazareth Chapel was not to my satisfaction. The PA system in the chapel was a single mono stack, and the chapel is quite reverberant, so it was nigh impossible to get anything to sound good coming out of those speakers. 2, I like the ...vibe of an entirely live-performed recital more than one that is broken up by times where everyone just sits and listens to a midi mockup of an orchestral piece (no shade, Sam, I quite enjoyed your orchestral pieces, actually). Anyway, below is a link to and an embed of a youtube playlist that includes all the videos I made related to my senior recital.
Senior Recital Youtube PlaylistRiver of Heartbreak is an Erhu composition by Jenny Liang for which I was hired to write and produce an accompaniment.
River of Heartbreak