“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.”
–Dr. Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor in Cognition & Education at Harvard University
WELCOME
Hello & Welcome. I’m Niel DePonte, President of DePonte Education & Entertainment. In 2020, I stepped down from my position as the Executive Artistic Director and founder of the education non-profit Cognizart, by MetroArts Inc (MAI) after 29 years. We did great work at MAI, creating arts education and creativity education programs for at risk kids, presenting outstanding young artists in concert, and working with teachers and non-profits on integrating the arts into the classroom. And I plan to continue my work in an even more customized way through DePonte Education & Entertainment (DEE)!
DEVELOPMENT
If you need to develop programming for schools, corporations, or the general public ranging from curriculum development focused on creativity, designing activities in arts education and creativity for your own corporation, consulting on strategic planning and board development for non-profits, or producing performances or concerts free to the public, DEE is the partner you have been looking for. In addition, DEE looks to directly support young musical artists in their quest to achieve excellence both artistically and academically.
COLLABORATION
The beauty of DEE is that it allows me to search for partners who want to make a difference in the lives of kids and families through the arts as well! I am always looking to collaborate with funders, organizations, and individuals who enjoy commissioning new works in music, promoting arts education, producing public concerts, and developing interesting projects in the arts, creativity, or education where someone with my background and expertise can “make it happen.” If you prefer to work with a non-profit organization, DePonte Creativity Partners specializes in creativity education, strategic consulting for arts organizations, concert production, and so much more.
If you need to or would rather work with our non-profit please go to DePonte Creativity Partners for more information.
WHAT WE DO.
Consulting
Strategic Planning for non-profit and for-profit Corporations
Board Development for non-profit organizations
Management Search Strategies
Artistic Director Search Strategies
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Assessments for organizations
Concert Production Models
Marketing/Audience Development for arts non-profits
Union negotiations
Products
Educational videos in the arts for children ages 5-12 made to order
Curricula integrating the arts with core curricular subjects
Seminars on creativity and the creative process for corporations
Teaching
Seminars for Teachers on arts integration methods and lesson design
Classroom Residencies co-teaching integrated arts/core subject lesson plans
“Instant Composer” ™ experiences for K-8 Classrooms mixing core subjects with music
Performances
Presenting concerts featuring world class artists and young virtuosi in traditional and alternative settings
Reach Out!
Complete the form below and we’ll reach out to you regarding partnering with DePonte Creativity Partners. We look forward to speaking with you!