
Hobbies and interests
Weightlifting
Music Production
Acting And Theater
Hebrew
Spanish
Social Media
Psychology
Reading
Adult Fiction
I read books multiple times per week
Xander Azevedo
685
Bold Points1x
Finalist1x
Winner
Xander Azevedo
685
Bold Points1x
Finalist1x
WinnerBio
I am a 19-year-old musician passionate about honing my production and Artist relationship skills! I have written, produced, and distributed my music, produced other artists, worked at a world-renowned recording studio, and have screenwritten, directed, acted, and produced my own music video!
Recently transferred into NYU's Music Business program to continue building my network and gaining as much experience as possible! I am looking forward to the coming semester with the intention of LEADING and CREATING opportunities for myself!
Education
New York University
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other
- Music
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Master's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
- Music
Career
Dream career field:
Music
Dream career goals:
Recording intern
AfterHours Recording Studio2024 – Present1 year
Sports
Wrestling
Varsity2021 – 20232 years
Awards
- Team Captain
Lacrosse
Junior Varsity2019 – 20223 years
Arts
Manhattan Neighborhood Network, AMM Productions Film
Music"Florida Man" - AMM Productions under Aidan Murphy2024 – 2025Pace University
Acting"Dirty Laundry"- Short Film by Gloria Saccocio2024 – 2024Alexander Bacle
Acting2024 – 2024Pace University
DrawingVarious Projects2024 – 2024Maxximusic Productions
Music"Mujer De Miel" - Xander2024 – 2025The Brownstone Class
Acting2024 – PresentThe Sketch Of New York
ActingThe Sketch of New York Summer Show2024 – 2024ActorClass
Acting2024 – 2025
Public services
Volunteering
Jewish Community Center — Counselor2021 – 2023Volunteering
Search and Care — Volunteer2023 – 2024
Future Interests
Volunteering
Philanthropy
Entrepreneurship
Jose Prado Memorial Scholarship
Growing up as a Venezuelan, my perspective of the world seemed to be quite different from many of my peers. My mother is Venezuelan and Jewish and my father is Brazilian, and my sister and I were born here in South Florida. Until I was about ten years old, we were back in forth between Venezuela and my hometown Pembroke Pines, spending our summers in beautiful cities like Margarita and Puerto Azul. Today, I am pursuing a degree in Music Technology at New York University
The culture surrounding manners was really the first striking difference I noticed between myself and my peers. I was always taught, not only through verbal indication but by example in Venezuela, to always say "Buenos Días" or even just a simple "Hola, que tal?" to anyone you encounter in your day to day. This may seem trivial, but as the United States grew more and more distant and divided over time, I realized I was given a great gift and responsibility through my culture. I carry the mentality that a friend is just a stranger I haven't said "Buenos Días" to yet. Over time, constantly being told to say hello or to make conversation with the guests (something I noticed that many of my peers were not forced to do) began to develop my sense of empathy for others. It has allowed me to see the amount of people struggling every day that sometimes just need a "hello, how are you?" in order to feel seen.
My family background has also impacted the way I view a work-life balance. Like most other South American countries, Venezuela values happiness, love, health, and fulfillment far more than they value material wealth, and it has definitely passed down to me. My family, particularly my mother and grandfather, always prioritized family gatherings. The occasion? Not so important. The important part was gathering as many friends, family members, and neighbors as possible and spending the whole day and night dancing, laughing, eating, and sharing stories. We'd have costume parties, pool parties, graduation parties, dinners, lunches, brunches, Christmas, Chanukah, you name it. We also have a family which is very close to ours who have also hosted gatherings my whole life. Every occasion had a gathering, whether it was at my house or theirs. This practice has instilled the importance of enjoying the people you have NOW rather than waiting until you have a certain amount of money or are "stable enough".
Alice M. Williams Legacy Scholarship
Music has changed my life by revealing my psyche to myself, by allowing me to disappear and become a part of something larger, and by finally allowing me to feel as though I have a medium that enables me to contribute something meaningful to society.
As a rising college freshman, I was completely lost: I come from two extremely talented musician parents who always pushed the idea that I can do "anything I want" when I grow up. The freedom, though intended to liberate, seemed to confine me to the thought that "Art demands too much luck and I'll never live up to my parents' expectations of me". So I moved out to college and began my Psychology studies... In New York City. I'm sure you can imagine where this goes.
During my senior year of high school I started teaching myself guitar. By the time I was living away from my parents in New York City and had the cosmic space to explore my own ambitions, I couldn't drop the guitar- I couldn't unclench my hands from holding the pen and paper. I began to feel free, to feel as though I could interpret the world around me by writing and feeling it in my music. I pulled a few thousand bucks from my saving and invested into a Music Theory course from Berklee, and by the end of the year I was applying to intern at studios back at home in South Florida. That very summer, I got the job and began to delve into the universe that is writing, recording, producing, mixing, cable wrapping, handshakes, networking, jam sessions, collaborating, MAKING MUSIC!
And since then, I've cracked myself open like pandora's box, and I couldn't fathom ever trying to close it again. Music has proven itself to me as not a profession but rather a lifestyle, always creating and hearing music in each breath I take- music is the way i translate life into a more digestible, delicious language.
I plan to make a positive impact on the world through my music in a few ways. I am a transgender, Jewish Venezuelan living in the United States in a time where stigma and repression is the norm for many people like me. Most are too afraid to express their passions, feeling as though society has already confined them to labels.
Making my music without regard for the"rules" that society aims to impose upon me, I hope, will inspire those around me to live their life as they please without awaiting permission from others. So, simply creating my music as I want to and displaying my unadulterated existence is one way in which I aim to change the world, one person at a time. Any even if that's all-- just one person-- it's enough to spark change in the world.
The second way in which I plan to impact the world is through my raw and honest lyrics. Particularly in my spanish music, I tend to write quite romantically. Latin music lyrics have taken a turn toward subjects like drug-dealing, prostitution, gang-affiliation, and blatant misogyny. My lyrics go back in time, per se, offering my true and naive belief in love. I want to bring back images of fearless love, love that tries hard regardless of who is watching, deep love that pushes past artifice and terms and conditions. I aim to bring this back as it was just over a decade ago, blending sounds from different latin music styles and modern mixes.
WCEJ Thornton Foundation Music & Art Scholarship
I plan to make a positive impact on the world through my music in a couple of ways. Starting with my mere existence. I know, it may sound pretentious, or strange perhaps-- but I am a transgender, Jewish Venezuelan living in the United States in a time where stigma and repression is the norm for many people like me. Most are too afraid to express their passions, feeling as though society has already confined them to labels.
Making my music without regard for the boxes or "rules" that society aims to impose upon me, I hope, will inspire those around me to live their life as they please without the permission of the world. So, simply creating my music as I want to and displaying my unadulterated existence is one way in which I aim to change the world, one person at a time. Any even if that's all-- just one person-- it's enough to spark change in the world. Being a norm-divergent person and acting on my ambitions will serve as an example for others to follow suite, and will eventually allow us to be taken just as seriously as anyone else.. One person at a time.
The second way in which I plan to impact the world is through my raw and honest lyrics. Particularly in my spanish music, I tend to write quite romantically. Latin music lyrics have taken a turn toward subjects like drug-dealing, prostitution, gang-affiliation, and blatant misogyny. My lyrics go back in time, per se, offering my true and naive belief in love. I want to bring back images of fearless love, love that tries hard regardless of who is watching, deep love that pushes past artifice and terms and conditions. I aim to bring this back as it was just over a decade ago, blending sounds from different latin music styles and modern mixes.
Marshall and Dorothy Smith Music Scholarship
My background in music is short in time, yet extensive in intensity. I have always been surrounded by music in one way or another, beginning with being born from two musician parents. I spent much of my childhood accompanying my mom at her concerts or watching my dad record an artist from our home.
My experience with music came much later. Although I played drums as a small child, I soon adopted the mentality that "I'm nothing compared to my parents in music, I'd better stick to something else like a science or a trade." So for years, I did what I could to deviate from the pressure of a family legacy.
In my senior year of high school, I taught myself to play the guitar. I challenged myself by learning songs like the notorious "Neon" John Mayer and "The Bug Collector" by Haley Heynderickx and enrolled in a Music Theory course at Berklee Online in my freshman year of college. Last summer, 2024, I interned at a music studio and learned the ins and outs of live recording, mixing, producing, networking, artists relations, the whole nine yards-- and I absolutely loved it. That same summer I began to take songwriting seriously as well, I even found a passion for the challenge of songwriting in Spanish, my non-native language.
As a student of Psychology at Pace University, I used my spare time to continue writing songs, posting snippets on social media, and producing the songs. In December of 2024, I collaborated with fellow artist Sabrea Aijalon Curiel on her song titled "Regal", and got to shadow the recording/mixing engineer in every step of the process-- I even got to learn the basics of mixing in Dolby Atmos. In January of 2025, I released my first single called "Mujer de Miel". I was also able to produce, write, co-direct, and act in my own music video, a unique story about "the one that got away" set inside of an original 1920's train. Not long after, I was offered the chance to be "Lead composer" scoring a pilot episode for the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, allowing me to explore other avenues of music production, arrangement, writing lead-sheets, and collaborating with other composers. Since then, I have written another song with Sabrea Aijalon Curiel titled "I do" and have continued producing my next single titled "Amor de Peli", both which will be distributed soon.
So, it is safe to say that I have solidified my passion in music and I am eager to continue growing and experimenting with the possibilities for my career in music. As of now, my plan until graduation is to continue building my network of artists and getting as much hands-on experience producing artists as possible alongside my degree work. This is so that after I receive my Music Business degree from NYU, I will be able to start my own record label and produce not only myself but the circle of artists I have fostered relationships with. Of course, I will also continue to produce and promote my own music as well.
James B. McCleary Music Scholarship
WinnerMusic has changed my life by revealing my psyche to myself, by allowing me to disappear and become a part of something larger, and by finally allowing me to feel as though I have a medium that enables me to contribute something meaningful to society.
As a rising college freshman, I was completely lost: I come from two extremely talented musician parents who always pushed the idea that I can do "anything I want" when I grow up. The freedom, though intended to liberate, seemed to confine me to a few thoughts: "I'm nowhere near as good as they are with music and I have no experience- so I'll study a science" or "Music demands too much luck and I'll never live up to my parents' expectations of me". So I moved out to college and began my Psychology studies... In New York City. I'm sure you can imagine where this goes.
During my senior year of college I started teaching myself guitar. By the time I was living away from my parents in New York City and had the cosmic space to explore my own ambitions, I couldn't drop the guitar- I couldn't unclench my hands from holding the pen and paper. I began to feel free, to feel as though I could interpret the world around me by writing and feeling it in my music. I pulled a few thousand bucks from my saving and invested into a Music Theory course from Berklee, and by the end of the year I was applying to intern at studios back at home in South Florida. That very summer, I got the job and began to delve into the universe that is writing, recording, producing, mixing, cable wrapping, handshakes, networking, jam sessions, collaborating, MAKING MUSIC!
And since then, I've cracked myself open like pandora's box, and I couldn't fathom ever trying to close it again. Music has proven itself to me as not a profession but rather a lifestyle, an identity for me. It's the way I live my life, always creating and hearing music in each breath I take, tree I hug, loss I incur, hug I embrace, win, loss, heartbreak, disappointment- music is the way i translate life into a more digestible, delicious language.
On a less hazy, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club" level explanation, music has also opened a plethora of doors for me. For example, I met a fellow artist in New York doing a show, and I recently began recording and producing our SECOND song together! Another great opportunity has been scoring a fellow artists pilot episode for television. It's the first time I've been referred to as a "composer", let alone the Lead composer in any project! It has also allowed me the chance to not only write and direct, but act in a music video! Music has allowed me to explore my artistic capabilities, and I intend on pushing the limits on them. Music has absolutely revolutionized my perspective of life.