Player Portrait

Niel DePonte

Principal Percussion, Drum set (Pops concerts), 2nd Timpanist

First season with the Oregon Symphony:

1977-1978

Most influential teacher(s):

Fred Hinger, principal timpanist, Philadelphia and Metropolitan Opera orchestras, who taught me to care for every note in a phrase. And at the Eastman School of Music, my peers taught me as much as my teachers.

Earliest musical memory:

My mother playing Rachmaninoff-like arrangements of the popular songs "Fascination" and "Glow-worm" and listening to opera on the phonograph.

"I first knew I would make music my career when ... "

I learned my first marimba concerto in college.

"Other than performing music, I've always thought it might be fun to be a ... "

Sports announcer.

Favorite composer and/or period?

Shostakovich, for his passionate writing, portraying every human emotion, and for the excitement he generates.

Why did you choose this pose for your photograph?

It's all about trying to balance everything I do in the arts: music director and conductor of Oregon Ballet Theatre and other conducting in addition to my role as principal percussion of the Oregon Symphony orchestra. But other interests are also represented: my love of sports, glass collecting and as a music educator through my MetroArts Kids Camp. (Many thanks to Oregon Ballet Theatre ballerina Katerina Svetlova.)

What do you enjoy most about performing?

The rush of being in the midst of all that sound!

Other than playing great music, what do you see as the Symphony's most important role?

Serving our community through education and demonstrating how music and the arts can change lives.

What is your favorite part of being a member of the Oregon Symphony?

Striving for excellence every day and knowing that my efforts bring joy to those I perform for.

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