Niel DePonte

Whether composing or arranging; conducting ballet, opera, pops, or symphonic repertoire; or performing as a concerto soloist with major orchestras, Niel DePonte has gained a national reputation as one of his generation's most versatile musical artists. He recently stepped down as Principal Percussionist of the Oregon Symphony after a 43-year tenure in that position. He is the Music Director and Conductor for Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) and for 28 years the Artistic Director of Cognizart, by MetroArts Inc’s Young Artists Concerto Competition in Portland.

Niel was a 2003 Grammy Award nominee in the category of Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra for his performance of the Concerto for Marimba by Tomas Svoboda, with James DePreist and the Oregon Symphony on Albany Records. He has performed with Chamber Music Northwest and can be heard on CD conducting Oregon Ballet Theatre's version of The Nutcracker Ballet with the OBT Orchestra as well as on nearly the entire discography of the Oregon Symphony. He has appeared as guest conductor with the symphonies of Oregon, Syracuse, Spokane, Charlotte, Anchorage, and Tulsa, among others, and with the San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Boston Ballet companies, and at the Mussorgsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Niel is the President of DePonte Creativity Partners, his latest non-profit organization that produced a new concert series in the summer of 2021 entitled The Concerts At The Barn. After two wildly successful seasons featuring chamber music performed by members of the Oregon Symphony and others at Hoffman Farms in Beaverton, Niel has planned an exciting season for 2023. For more information go to TheConcertsAtTheBarn.com.

Niel DePonte was born in New York City and received his graduate training at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned a Master of Music degree and the Performer's Certificate. He holds a certificate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education’s professional development seminar, The Project Zero Classroom, and a degree in music education from the State University of New York.  Dr. Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor in Cognition and Education at Harvard University has written, “As a person who has worked for decades in the area of arts education, I can attest that there are few individuals with Niel’s combination of talents, and literally only a handful who are devoting their lives to the education of young individuals. Oregon is lucky to have such an individual in residence.”