Suarez pursues the career of this dreams
By Jillian Deam
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Dane Suarez of Princeton is pursuing the career of his dreams. He’s willing to accept that there’s no guarantee of employment and ready to put in the hard work — all for the love of being in the spotlight and belting out music in front of a crowd.
But Suarez doesn’t want to be a “rock star.” He wants to be a professional opera singer.
Breaking into the opera business isn’t much easier — opera companies across the world are short on money, and most professional companies are no longer working year-round. The companies that still hold open auditions often hear more than 300 singers at a time and employ only a few.
Still Suarez, a Butler senior, has never been able to see himself doing anything else. With his coiffed hair, spunky yet preppy style of dress and larger than life personality, he seems ready for the tough road ahead of him.
“Dane especially works well under pressure and gives off a great sense of confidence while performing,” said Zack Colby, a senior music education major who’s a good friend of Suarez’s.
The confidence Suarez shows is the result of experience. His love for performing started back in second grade when he raced home from school to announce the exciting news: He had received a solo in his school’s annual Christmas program. His mother, Clare, laughed a little because she’d never heard him sing before. But when it was time for his big moment, she definitely wasn’t laughing.
“When he stepped up to the microphone, I was amazed,” she said. “I had never heard him sing before and he sounded like an angel.”
She immediately signed him up for the children’s choir at their church, and by the time he was in fourth grade, he started doing community theater and taking voice lessons. He played Louis in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I” and was cast as Amahl in Menotti’s opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” In fifth grade he joined the school’s band to play percussion instruments and continued until he graduated high school.
“Dane's passion for music comes out of his every pore,” his mother said.
In high school, Suarez became involved in anything that had to do with music — band, choir, school plays and various ensembles. He even competed in Illinois High School Association solo/ensemble contests, got involved with the Illinois Music Educators Association and sang in all-state choirs.
“During my freshman year, I started to teach myself how to play the piano, then started taking lessons my sophomore year,” he said. “And by my the time I was a junior, I was an accompanist for our choir and then became the head accompanist my senior year.”
If there was a place to perform in his community, Suarez was there. So when it came time to graduate, he knew music was the one thing he wanted to pursue. He auditioned for the music program at Butler and was accepted.
Butler Professor of Voice Mary Anne Scott said when she heard Suarez audition, she thought he was “a diamond in rough.”
“His voice is passionate, earthy at times, and thrilling, especially when he goes for a high note,” she said.
At Butler, Suarez started working toward a degree in applied music and made an effort to perform in any way possible. He became an active member of the Lyric Theatre program and eventually the tenor section leader of the Butler University Chorale. He also joined Butler’s male a cappella group, Out of the Dawg House, and served as both the president and music director throughout his involvement.
“I arrange just about all the music for the group and I teach a lot of it,” he said. “I just really like to put things together, so I take a lot on myself because I enjoy it.”
Suarez arranges everything from Billy Joel to Justin Timberlake to rap medleys featuring Flo Rida songs.
“Dane uses his classical background to sing pop music and uses his knowledge of pop music to make opera cool,” said Colby, who describes Suarez’s voice as having “a dark, smooth quality.”
Suarez considers himself a tenor, but said people also often think he’s a baritone due to the “color” of his voice.
“I think it’s very important to be a versatile singer,” he said. “I enjoy performing various genres of music in various styles.”
This past summer, Suarez had the opportunity to attend La Musica Lirica, a summer opera program in Novafeltria, Italy.
“It was an amazing experience performing Italian opera ... in Italy ... for Italians,” he said, smiling.
He also recently finished performing in the Indianapolis Opera’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème. It was his first time doing professional opera work, yet he still managed to get a solo.
Even after all the performing, Suarez said he still gets nervous before he sings, “I always say that if you don’t get nervous, you don’t love it, ” he said.
And someone would have to “love it” to be able to trudge along after the rejections. Like any artist, Suarez has had his fair share of letdowns.
“There have been times where I have auditioned for things and I haven’t gotten what I wanted ... or gotten anything for that matter!” he said. “It’s hard not to take it personally because that’s the thing about singing — it’s personal. When your instrument is your voice, it makes criticism a very personal thing.”
Suarez said it wasn’t until last semester and into the summer that he truly realized he wanted to pursue music more seriously — he hadn’t thought much about graduate school before then. But after performing in Italy and working with some of his professors, he realized if he wanted a future singing professional opera, he’d have to work for it.
“It’s kind of a scary thing,” he said, “but I like a challenge.”
He decided to continue his education in music and apply for master’s of music programs in vocal performance at Indiana University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois. The programs at those schools focus primarily on opera.
“Each school asks for something a little different, but usually they’re looking to hear you sing in English, Italian, French and German,” he said. “They want to hear contrasting styles and see if you know what you are doing — if you have good musicality, ease in production, good intonation, etc.”
By continuing his education, he hopes to gain more performing experience and get more training. He would love to perform with a major opera company some day, but he knows the odds are against him.
Regardless of what happens, Suarez said he will continue to sing.
“As long as I can perform,” he said, “I know I’ll be happy.”
