Azeem Ward

“I started composing, and that really started to shift my mindset of music and being a creator in music, not just a person that plays what’s on the page.”

-Azeem Ward

Written by Nathan Zanon

IN THE SPRING OF 2015, musician Azeem Ward opened up Facebook to learn he had quite unexpectedly gone viral. Ward, a music major in flute performance at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), discovered over a hundred-thousand people had RSVP’d to the senior recital event he had created on Facebook, transforming the small showcase for friends, family, and fellow musicians in the department into an international sensation—particularly in England.

“Someone decided to click ‘Attending’ in the UK, as a joke,” he recalls. “Then some of their friends thought that was funny and clicked ‘Attending’ too. Over the course of a week, there was a huge rush of people that clicked ‘Attending.’ ” The enormous numbers attached to his recital caught the attention of the internet, as well as the press—landing him a Buzzfeed article and a late-night TV interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Ward grew up in the East Bay and began playing music in fifth grade. He selected the flute for his music studies because, as he recalls, “It looked familiar; it looked easy…Lo and behold, it was not easy,” he sighs. So much so that as he progressed to middle school, he wanted to switch his musical focus to choir. But his dad had other ideas. “He said, ‘I bought the flute for you. So you’ve gotta play the flute.’ ” azeemward.weebly.com Instagram azeemward

It was the right decision, as Ward grew to love the instrument over the course of the next few years, enjoying being part of an ensemble and traveling places to perform. He expanded to more instruments, including clarinet and saxophone, then began taking courses and lessons in orchestral music in addition to band. Eventually, he decided that he wanted to study music and performance when he went to college.

But when he was accepted to the UCSB music program, he needed a better flute than the one his dad had bought him years prior. Music programs at this level require performance-quality instruments, but Ward simply didn’t have the money for a new one. “A professional flute can cost around $5,000 and up,” he explains. “In high school, I had played in the Oakland Youth Orchestra on scholarship, and the conductor vouched for me to the Oakland Symphony staff. So the staff fundraised over $6,000 at the symphony to get me a flute to go to college to play.”

In college, Ward’s musical growth continued. He won competitions and began exploring even deeper questions about what music could be for him. “I started composing, and that really started to shift my mindset of music and being a creator in music, not just a person that plays what’s on the page,” he shares.

When the fifteen minutes of fame surrounding his senior recital landed him an instant fan base across the pond, Ward decided to take advantage of the opportunity that had materialized for him. After his big recital, which was attended by far fewer than a hundred-thousand people, and graduation, he packed his bags to go on tour in the UK. “That caused a shift in my path to go to grad school,” he says. “I postponed for six months. But I was like, ‘Well, what am I gonna play? I’m not gonna play sonatas and concertos in the clubs.’ So, I teamed up with a [producer] named

DJ Underbelly, and we created a show that included hip-hop beats and R&B beats with flute to play at these various locations in the UK.”

This musical fusion has brought him to where he is today. He has continued his collaborations with DJ Underbelly, performing under the moniker Azeem X Underbelly; he has explored a performance style called flute beatbox, creating his own compositions and beats; he plays in the Oakland-based band Audiopharmacy; and he has also collaborated with a variety of other artists, both local and international, to create unique sounds. In 2021, he recorded an album, Definition of Love, under his own publishing company, S&B Music, and in 2023, he has another European tour planned with some of his collaborators.

In addition to performing and recording, Ward is a teacher at Milpitas Christian School in San Jose, where he is able to pass his love of music along to students in middle and elementary schools while also following his deeply held faith.

“It’s a lot,” he admits, speaking to his wide array of projects and pursuits. “I’m trying to hone in on what’s necessary. I know that I’m called to be a teacher. Most of my time is nurturing these students. I’m like a gardener, planting seeds, investing in the future.”

It has been quite a journey for Ward, but his easy manner and quiet sense of humor help him take it all in stride. He continues to explore musical styles, evolving as he goes and focusing on what he loves. Maybe, this hip-hop flautist will go viral again and the world will have another chance to discover the artist responsible for the world’s most famous senior flute recital. C