Larry Kaplan is one of Southern California’s most versatile and sought-after flutists. He has performed extensively with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for over twenty years, including three domestic tours and nine international tours to 22 countries. Larry has also appeared numerous times on the LA Phil Green Umbrella Series. He has collaborated with such iconic conductors as Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Zubin Mehta, Simon Rattle and Leonard Bernstein. Larry has also played Piccolo with the Minnesota Orchestra, and he has played Principal flute with the Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and with many local orchestras including the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony and Long Beach Symphony. For 12 years, Larry was a member of the 2-time Grammy Award winning Southwest Chamber Music with whom he recorded, performed locally, and performed on tours to New York, Vienna, Mexico City, and also to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Hanoi, Viet Nam. These tours included teaching residencies at UNAM in Mexico City, Royal Cambodian Conservatory and Hanoi Conservatory.
Early in his career, Larry played saxophone in several local rock and jazz groups, and he is a past recipient of the Outstanding Jazz Soloist Award at the Chaffee Jazz Festival. Additionally, he played in the pit orchestras for Wicked and The Lion King at the Pantages Theater, and over 600 performances of The Phantom of the Opera at the Ahmanson Theater. He also has numerous other recording credits including movie and television soundtracks as well as commercial jingles.
His past faculty positions include 11 years at UC Irvine, where he taught flute and was director of chamber music, and 18 years at Chapman University. He is currently on the faculty here at Cal State, Northridge. Larry received his BM and MM degrees here at CSUN, and he is delighted to be a member of TEMPO.