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Francisco Suárez

Assistant Professor Berklee Study AbroadFirst Year Abroad

In Their Own Words

"As a harmony teacher, I believe it is important for the student to get not just the theory behind chords, scales, and all the technical matter related to the subject, I think it is crucial to get familiar with real music as much as possible, where you can find these concepts applied. In my classes I try to illustrate every harmonic idea with music taken from actual recordings in a variety of styles, be it jazz, rock, pop, and lots of Latin American music as well. I try to bring different musical visions to enrich my students with a broader scope stylistically."

"In order to help the students with their work, I’ve written lots of supplementary material, mostly done through transcribing. And that leads us to the importance of ear training, another subject I teach at Berklee, and one I feel very passionate about. In class we spend a lot of time listening to and transcribing bass lines and harmonic progressions from records, and fine tuning writing skills to accurately represent on paper the sounds we are listening to. Singing, reading, transcribing, performing, actively listening, and having fun while doing it—that is basically what I strive for in my classes."

Career Highlights

  • Fran Suárez Piano Trío: leader, pianist, and composer; contemporary jazz CD Imaginario released March 2014
  • Organist and composer on Dr. GO Trio’s record, recorded at Nomada 57 studio, Barcelona, 2013
  • Composer for the show Cruïlles, which premiered at Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona
  • Composer for the film Asmita, which premiered in Barcelona
  • Jazz a l’Estudi: Performed three one-hour jazz programs for Catalonian National TV (TV3)
  • Pianist with Ana Finger Quintet at the Marciac Jazz Festival
  • Arranger, composer, and pianist for Ana Finger’s Ciudades Lejanas CD (FreshSound WorldJazz 036)
  • Pianist and hammond organist with Dani Nello Quartet y Nonet; concerts all over Catalonia (including shows in Barcelona’s Auditori y Festival de Terrassa 2009, among others)
  • Big band and vocal arrangements for Ensemble Vocal Taller de Música. Artistic producer/arranger on recording of La Colección del Taller (2002)
  • Producer, pianist, and programmer on recording of Gabriel Baez/Caminando (Tenerife)
  • Wrote arrangements for Nestor Munt and Bandalix’s CD Bandalix II
  • Pianist and accordionist for the play L’Auca del Senyor Esteve, TNC Teatro Nacional de Catalunya
  • Pianist for many musical theater shows all over Spain since the late 1990s
  • Musical director, arranger, and staff composer for Edebé Publishing Company, Barcelona
  • Wrote arrangements for more than 100 songs, wrote scores for 15 audiobooks, and was the artistic producer for 12 albums; Recorded at Estudi 84, Barcelona
  • Composer and musical director for the show Sum Pao, created by Comediants Theater Company Comediants, premiered in Port Aventura, Tarragona (March 1998)
  • Composer for the show La Perla del Dragón, premiered in Port Aventura, Tarragona
  • Arranger for Port Aventura’s Jazz Band (swing and Dixieland six-horn arrangements)
  • Faculty member; contemporary harmony, jazz composition, film scoring); Conservatori del Liceu, Barcelona

Education

  • B.M., Berklee College of Music, summa cum laude

Teaches in:

  • Berklee Study Abroad
  • First Year Abroad