"It was not an easy decision to step away from teaching. It has been the most rewarding 13 years of my life. I cannot tell you how much the experience has taught me about people, music, the industry, and how a spark of creativity can explode just because you gave students the tools of expression."

"However my decision to leave is because I have a higher calling. Almost 3 years ago when my wife was diagnosed with a rare disease called scleroderma, we were devastated. [As] time progressed [and the] disease started to take a bigger toll on my wife and family, I felt that I needed to pursue this crisis head on." Emmanuel will be "dedicating more time with the Scleroderma Foundation, an organization that has helped me and my wife through this situation by giving support, medical access, getting the best doctors, and learning to create a bigger awareness of [this] disease."

Emmanuel and Kristine have two beautiful children: Aaron (9) and Elle (6)

Read his full heart-warming Facebook post here.