Superstar flutist Azeem Ward is coming to Durham for Freshers’ Week

Legendary flutist and viral sensation Azeem Ward is set to rock Durham during Freshers’ Week.

The smiling hero is taking the UK by storm with a nationwide tour that makes three appearances in our fair city thanks to a close connection formed with Durham third year Stuart Swift.

University of California Santa Barbara grad Azeem found his senior flute recital going viral on Facebook earlier this year with over 50,000 people attending on his event page.

He told The Tab: “I remember it was someone from Durham who shared it first” which lead to the event making the rounds “in the UK in particular”.

When the event itself came around Durham student Stuart Swift travelled all the way to Santa Barbara to see the viral sensation live in action.

The man, the myth, the legend

Azeem welcomed Stuart to the gig as the Mildert boy’s attendance formed part of his #beinstrumental campaign that aimed to encourage others to post videos online of themselves playing an instrument.

Azeem seems keen to get back in touch with the 21-year-old. He said: “Yeah … I lost touch with him so I’m not sure what’s up with Stuart Swift. But if he wants to meet up I’ll be like ‘Yo bro, let’s meet up’ – know what I mean?”

A few months on Azeem, with his fellow musician DJ Underbelly, are getting ready to start off their UK tour. The fact that Durham played a role in Azeem’s unexpected internet takeover is one of the reasons he’s taking the time to play at the city while he’s here.

He added: “Durham is a cool city and there’s a lot of interest for me to be there.”

Stuart flew all the way to California to see the recital

Azeem managed to fund his tour through crowdsourcing website Kickstarter. Though most of the major contributions over $100 came from close friends and family, he did find UK students funding his trip over to our side of the pond with their own smaller donations.

However unfortunately no one in Durham earned the “Cheeky Nando’s with Azeem X Underbelly” reward, reserved for those who donated upwards of $160. In spite of this the flautist gave us this reassuring message. He said: “That doesn’t go to say that I wouldn’t still go to a cheeky Nando’s with anyone in Durham.”

But if the opportunity to enjoy a quarter chicken breast with Azeem seems a much too fleeting encounter with fame then you’ve no need to worry.

The hero finished: “I’m here to make connections for the future and gain more performing experience in general, and to overall have a great time in Durham.”

For those interested, Azeem will be showing off his flute skills in Durham on the following dates:

Oct. 5th- Durham University

Oct. 7th- Hatfield college

Oct. 13th- Tribe Durham