Video Chat: Tony Succar — Musician, Composer, Arranger, Producer
ANTONIO “TONY” SUCCAR (b. 1986) is a Peruvian-American musician, composer, arranger and producer. In 2010, Tony and his band were invited to perform al fresco at a Halloween party on Lincoln Road in the heart of South Beach. The invitation included a special request to play Michael Jackson’s classic Thriller. In considering how he would perform Thriller, Tony thought, “Why don’t I put it through a salsa filter.” And the moment provided a spark that ignited Succar on a five-year odyssey, culminating in the production and release of Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson, featuring many of the world’s best Latin musicians and vocalists.
Tony Succar was born in Lima, Peru. When he was two years old his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Miami. Among his relatives were a number of musicians who encouraged Succar to develop his own musical interests. The family’s musical tradition began with his paternal great-grandparents, Mexican composer Lauro Uranga and Spanish flamenco dancer Rosa Rodríguez Valero. Succar’s father Antonio is a pianist and his mother Mimy is a singer. When Succar was thirteen, he began playing drums with his parents’ band. He eventually attended Florida International University (FIU) where he earned a B.A. in Jazz Peformance (2008) and a Masters Degree (2010).
In 2012, Succar became an artist-in-residence at FIU, continuing to work with the school’s music students on a number of projects. He is the youngest artist ever to hold this appointment at FIU.
Succar has worked with a number of prominent artists in Latin music genres. These include Tito Nieves, La India, Kevin Ceballo, Michael Stuart, Jon Secada, Jennifer Peña, Jean Rodriguez, and Obie Bermúdez, who all collaborated with him on Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson. Currently the group is touring the world, performing selections from Unity. In October 2015, the group recorded an hour-long performance from Unity for PBS.
The videos below are organized by topic and run between 90 seconds and 14 minutes. Tap on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 14:32 min..
EDUCATION: 4:10 min.
COLLABORATION: 2:09 min.
COLLABORATION: 3:53 min.
ABOUT MIAMI: 5:59 min.
PROFESSIONALISM: 2:29 min
CREATIVITY & FLEXIBILITY: 2:28 min
