French guitarist and luthier Vincent Dubès whose name is associated with ancient musical instruments – especially romantic guitars – has followed an atypical path.
At age 7, he started learning classical guitar with Jean Lahitète in Mont-de-Marsan and at age 15, he left his hometown of The Landes and joined the Mirecourt National School of Violin Making in The Vosges. Since then, he has never ceased to exert himself in order to hone his craft in both fields.
During the five years he spent at the Violin Making School, he learned to build and restaure string quartet instruments under the tutelage of several workshop trainers namely Michel Legeard, Dominique Nicosia, Jean-Philippe Cognier, Rolland Terrier and Jean-Jacques Pagès. While he was in Mirecourt, his guitar teacher, Thierry Pantaleo, gave him the opportunities to play chamber music as well as concertos at the “Salon Musicora” in La Villette, Paris. His teacher encouraged him to consider a career as a professional guitarist and suggested that he should participate in numerous festivals and masterclasses. Vincent was thus able to receive invaluable advice and guidance from renowned guitarists such as Alberto Ponce, Roland Dyens, Scott Tenant, William Kanengiser, Eduardo Isaac…
While pursuing a degree in Violin Making, he got a chance to study with Dominique Eder and Frédéric Bennatar at the Conservatoire National de Nancy. Thanks to the contribution of these two professors, Vincent gradually developed a taste for early music. Around the same time, he got his first romantic guitar, a fine Pierre Marcard, early 19th century; it was gifted by a patron who made him promise that he would keep it and play it.
Vincent was barely 20 years old when he graduated as a luthier and obtained a “Certificate of Professional Competence” and a “Technician’s Bachelor Degree”; he’s also a graduate in “Arts and Crafts”. As a musician, he obtained “Guitar First Prize”, “Chamber Music First Prize” and “Diplôme de Concert” with unanimous approval and congratulation of the jury.
Later, he perfected his skills in Paris with the help of guitarist Vladimir Mikulka but also with luthier Dominique Field with whom he learned to build guitars.
In 2007, he enters the Conservatoire Royal de Mons, ARTS², Belgium and studied under the tutelage of Odair Assad and Françoise-Emmanuelle Denis before graduating with a “Master en Didactique” and a “Master Spécialisé” with high distinction.
Driven by an insatiable curiosity, Vincent can’t help exploring various esthetics; after all, flamenco, jazz, blues, folk or electric guitars evolved from baroque and romantic guitars. A kind of practical musicology !
Vincent teaches guitar at the Conservatoire Royal de Mons, ARTS² and at Music Academy of Mons. He also manages a luthier’s workshop where he builds string instruments and restores instruments built by prominent figures in the history of luthiers at the request of demanding customers such as musicians and collectors. He has participating in the writing of numerous reference books on guitar making and several articles about his work have been published in the specialized press; moreover, he is often invited as a guest lecturer or masterclass instructor.
He is endorsed by Aquila Strings as well as by private patronage which gives him access to various instruments including René Lacote, Louis Panormo, Antonio de Torres, Vicente Arias, Francisco Simplicio, etc.
When it comes to stage performance, Vincent not only plays as a solo artist but he also teams up with Belgo-Italian guitarist Nausicaa Cannella to form a duo called “Duo Cannella-Dubès”. Vincent and Nausicaa perfected their craft together in Paris with the help of romantic guitar experts, Catherine and Bruno Marlat. The duo’s first album “Nuages de beau temps” was critically acclaimed by the specialized press.