More often than not, he triumphs.

“I’ve had this philosophy since I was young that I caught from my mother. You always have to keep moving, get ahead and think about what you can accomplish next,” he said.

The Bowling Green State University professor emeritus has an impressive list of accomplishments, most recently winning an honorable mention for his opera, “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” from The American Prize.

Last year, he won the Gold Medal award from the Boston Metro Opera for his barbershop opera “Something Special,” beating out 625 works submitted by composers from six continents.

“I almost fell off my chair when I saw the results,” DePue said.

But DePue might never have become the composer he is today if not for his scrappy childhood tendencies.

“I was smaller than most of the boys I fought with, but I could fight. That’s not surprising, given my father was a fight trainer and I was an amateur boxer as a teenager,” he said. “I was a fast gun. I usually had a black eye or a cut somewhere and never looked quite healthy. But I stood up to those who tried to take away my pride.”