Arts Education

A long-time advocate for arts-education, and a mentor to many young musicians, DePonte is also the artistic director of the Young Artists at the Schnitz concerto competition held in Portland, Oregon. As president of MetroArts Inc, a non-profit arts-education organization founded by DePonte in 1993, he has done considerable research on the use of the arts for teaching cognitive strategies – diligently working with teachers and school districts to infuse the arts into classroom instruction. He holds a degree in education, with honors, from the State University of New York. In the summer of 2001, DePonte taught at Harvard University’s seminar for educators, The Project Zero Classroom. 2002 marked the 10^th anniversary of his MetroArts Kids Camp, designed to introduce children ages 7-12 to the vast array of creative processes used by artists in the fine and performing arts. Mr DePonte currently resides in Portland, Oregon, USA.