ABOUT

Peruvian immigrant Anaís Azul (they/them) is a California based composer-performer, Fulbright Scholar, and teaching artist. Described as “stunningly honest and vulnerable,” their artistry engages with music as a tool for community building, cross-genre collaboration, and collective healing.

Azul writes music that is in conversation with looped vocal harmonies, classical melodies, and Latin American singer-songwriter traditions. Their songs are multilingual (Spanish, English, and Quechua) and about mental health, queerness, facing harsh realities and finding inner peace in spite of chaos.

Classically-trained with an experimental spirit, Azul received their B.M in Music Composition and Theory from Boston University with a concentration in piano and their MFA in Music, Performer-Composer from California Institute of the Arts. They are to begin their PhD in ethnomusicology in the fall of 2024 at UC Riverside. Having composed and arranged for theater and orchestra, Azul composed the music for the award-winning Displaced: A Response to Qurban produced by the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

In the fall of 2022, Azul released their debut solo EP “Vulnerable” thanks to the support of the Yerba Buena Garden’s Festival 2022 Seed Commission. Their past releases can be found on all major streaming platforms in addition to the three singles off of their forthcoming album “Simp’ashani: Canciones Trenzadas.”

Outside of their performance life, Anaís has been proud to serve as co-curator of the 2022 annual Día de los Muertos exhibition “To Love and be Loved in Return” at SoMarts. Additionally, they have been Special Faculty at California Institute of the Arts teaching music theory and pedagogy courses to undergraduate and graduate students alike. They were also an Artist in Residence at Boston University premiering orchestrated excerpts of their experimental opera “Chopping Onions.” In May of 2024, Anaís completed their Fulbright U.S. Student award in Perú to produce an album of multilingual reinterpretations of Andean music using the Charango and vocal looping. In their spare time, they like to go thrifting and read tarot cards for their friends and family.

Press highlights include a feature on Remezcla, NPR, WBUR, and Berkeleyside for their work not only as a performer, but as a community arts organizer. They have also received grants from Commotion West Berkeley, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Arts|Lab@Med Campus, and the City of Boston's Mayor's Office to curate public, community art events.

To hire, book, or see a full list of works, please use the contact form.