BACKGROUND

Often do I think of the words of the poet Robert Frost: ‘Two roads diverged in the woods and I — I took the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference.'

At 46, in the middle of an international business career with a New York bank, and after years with a petroleum company in Europe, I went back to the aspiration of my childhood to pursue justice through music, a language that, because it has no words, touches our emotions while circumventing misunderstandings. . *** After reflecting on the impact of poverty and social injustices, I left my job as head of the Africa Department of a major NYC commercial bank and enrolled in the Western Michigan University Irving S. Gilmore School of Music to study music composition - to compose music for Peace. My American bride, the daughter of a WWII C47 pilot and an Army nurse, supported my choice; we both concurred that simplicity and empathy are essential human values. I reflected anew on the bike rides of my childhood, meandering from First World War military cemeteries in Belgian Flanders to World War II military cemeteries in the Belgian Ardennes.

The first composition, the Suite “Of Barbed Wire and Red Roses” Op. 1b for large brass ensemble and timpani - contrasting hate and love - is the result of reflections on the civil wars that I had witnessed while traveling a decade for business in Africa. This Suite was recognized with the Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Award. Other awards from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo Arts Outreach Grant and the Pharmacia and Upjohn Foundation Grant, reinforced the choice to pursue music composition; to follow the road less traveled. . *** Besides the first Concerto “Imagine New York” Op. 39 for piano, the large orchestral works are: the Oratorio “Requiem for the Fallen” Op. 50, inviting reflection on all losses of life due to violence; the uplifting Concerto for alto saxophone & strings “Springtime in Chicago” Op. 61; the Cantata “The Bells of Hope” Op. 63 inviting mutual respect; and ‘Between War and Peace’ Op. 64 the second piano Concerto, for the left hand, contrasting echoes of war and violence to evocations of peace and respect. . ***

As a child, I was not allowed to do music because our parents were traumatized by the memories of their young adulthood in WWII and we were now enduring the Cold War.

Instead of trying to create and share beauty through art, I was told to work on a degree in hard science - organic chemistry - from ULB, the University of Brussels. I pursued a PhD in chemistry, worked several years in Brussels for a European oil company and earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after relocating to the USA.

After a decade with an international bank, in NYC, in West Africa, and as the head of their Africa Division, I joined the faculty of a university in Michigan to teach international finance and economics. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, I received a call from the US Agency for International Development in Washington DC. The job was to oversee some of the Agency’s programs in Central Europe.

These international experiences led to appreciating that the paths to peace and understanding must include mutual respect. I reflected on the arts as tools for understanding and enrolled in the Western Michigan University School of Music to focus on music composition.

Over the next decades, my compositions would explore the idea of mutual respect and peace: The Oratorio ‘Requiem for the Fallen’ about the victims of war; the ‘Organ Sonata’ about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack; the first Piano Concerto ‘Imagine New York’ about Freedom; the a. Saxophone Concerto ’Springtime in Chicago’ about optimism; the Cantata ‘Tears of the Earth’ about respect, on Native American texts; the Cantata ‘The Bells of Hope’ and the piano Toccata ‘Resolve & Pride’ both also about respect; and the assertive second piano concerto, 'Between War and Peace’, for melodic and percussive left hand, about hope for peace. . In 2019, the final version of the Oratorio ‘Requiem for the Fallen’ premiered at Carnegie Hall (Zankel) in the presence of the Belgian Consul. Additional performances took place in Moscow: in 2020 with American Embassy financing, and in 2021 at Zereteli Gallery as a concert for peace. In 2021 also, the short version of ‘Ave Maria’ was played at Saint Bechara Church, in Jubail, Lebanon. In 2022, the ‘Ave’ and the ‘Organ Sonata’ were replayed in Graz, Austria, during a concert for peace supported by the American Embassy in Vienna. In 2023, the American Embassy in Moscow cosponsored a concert for peace at the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Ave Maria and the Organ Sonata opened the concert. In 2002, the Organ Sonata had premiered at the First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in memory of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia. The Organ Sonata was also played in 2004 at the Cathedral of Lectoure, France, in remembrance of 9-11. .  *** The five piano sonatas and the piano suites were repeatedly played in France and in the US. The song cycles for soprano and mezzo were also performed, including the cycle ‘Detours of Love’ for soprano and piano, the duets ‘Happiness’ for soprano, mezzo and piano, the song cycle ‘Yulia’ for soprano and string quartet and ‘Come Ye Who Love’ for soprano, horn and piano, commissioned by Michigan State University. The “Horn Call’ review of Come Ye Who Love reads: Emmanuel Dubois’ contribution is a hauntingly beautiful work with surprises. The moody opening solo is an extended cantabile, which is then joined by the voice in an interweaving tapestry [...]

The Trio for violin, violoncello and piano Op. 65 (2025), on the theme of respect, is also entitled ‘Come Ye Who Love’.

August 2025