The Retort

Striking the Right Chords: Committed to Following his Passion

October 23rd, 2009 by MSU Billings News Services For The Retort

Dorthea Cromley, left, professor of music at MSUB, has been working with Jason Suchan since he arrived at the university. (Photo by MSU Billings News Services)

Jason Suchan’s first encounter with a piano was one of those moments that seem destined for a Hollywood screenplay: The precocious youngster with a gift for music… a resurrected player piano… the subsequent ignition of his passion. Yet the Montana State University Billings senior’s story is far from over. His true-life story is still unfolding and the next stanza features the Billings Symphony Orchestra.

Suchan appeared as the guest soloist with the BSO for the Saturday, October 10th “Bright Lights & Rising Stars” concert at Alberta Bair Theater. Concert time is 7:30 pm.

This will be Suchan’s first appearance with the orchestra as a featured soloist, but the story arc follows what has turned into a continued passion for music and the arts.

According to Suchan, it all started with an old player piano that his father had purchased. He was about four years old and the old upright piano was sitting in the basement of the family home. One afternoon, as he ventured downstairs to check things out, a dust-speckled beam of sunlight beckoned him toward the instrument for a closer look. He liked the feel of it, and the sounds that came from it. He was hooked.

Soon he was taking piano lessons from his grandmother and getting involved in band in school. He became accomplished on the trumpet and trombone. He was an accomplished performer through high school and when he graduated from Billings West High School in 2005, he set his sights on studying with Dorothea Cromley at MSU Billings.

“I’ve always been interested in the piano,” said Suchan, whose soft-spoken nature and easy smile belie the fiery passion that comes out in his performances. “But I really got serious about the piano when I got here.”

These days, he’s seriously committed to his October 10th performance. He’ll play Liszt’s “Piano Concerto No. 1,” which has its share of flash, fervor and delicate interludes.

“I’m real excited to work with Anne (BSO director Anne Harrigan),” Suchan said. “I want the performance to be really good.” Cromley, who has worked with some of the most talented young pianists in Montana over her career, said she has appreciated Suchan’s commitment to following his passion, especially in a state that has so few male role models as budding artists.

He’s had his share of “normal” college challenges over his career. Both laugh at the first time he neglected to attend a music theory class. Late hours working to load planes at the airport and extra sleep caused the misstep, but that was the last time.

“Young men in the arts are so rare here,” said Cromley. “Finding someone like Jason who is so normal and who loves the arts is amazing.”

Just as important, Cromley said, is the message Jason’s success poses for music education in public schools.

“I just want to show our public schools ‘Look what you did with Jason!’ It’s phenomenal,” she said.

A piano performance major who will graduate in May 2010 and has his sights set on graduate education, Suchan said he encourages young musicians to persevere in their studies. Frustrations are normal, he said, but in the end, the pursuit of your passion pays off.

“I think it’s really important to do what you love,” he said.