Allan Kaplan, Ph.D. is the Trombone Professor at New Mexico State University, where he also teaches courses in music education, orchestration, history of jazz and improvisation. Dr. Kaplan's education included Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Ph.D. in Music Education from New York University. Presently he is Principal Trombone of the Las Cruces Symphony and a member of the El Paso Brass Quintet. From 1975-1989 he was Principal Trombone of the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra. Previous to that position he performed in Broadway musicals, as Solo Trombone of the Goldman Band, at Lincoln Center, and was a member of the New York Brass Choir. In addition, Dr. Kaplan has a strong background as a public school music educator. He has represented NMSU as a clinician and performing artist throughout Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and California.

Dr. Kaplan has recorded on the Angel label with Maestro Herrera de la Fuente, on the MENC video series "The Worlds Greatest Music", on various labels with the Goldman Band, with the Light Fantastic Players, and with Richie Havens.

In the commercial field he has performed with artists such as Lena Horne, Burt Bacharach, Sammy Davis, Jr., Henry Mancini, Mel Torme, Cher, The Oak Ridge Boys, Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan.

In 2006 he was a member of the Orchestra at the Mendocino Music Festival in Northern California. In 2001 Kaplan was invited to NYC with the Creole Trio, to an audition for the State Department's Jazz Ambassador program. Look for Dr. Kaplan's chapter on the trombone section in the jazz band in the recently published "Jazz Pedagogy: The Jazz Educator's Handbook and Resource Guide" by Warner Brothers, edited by Dr. Willie Hill Jr. He is a member of A.S.C.A.P. and a clinician for Edwards Instrument Co.