Faculty: Stephen Caplan
absolutely beautiful - New York Concert Review
first-class performance - Culture and Life (Kiev, Ukraine)
impeccable playing...subtle, covered, and beautifully controlled. - The Double Reed
Acclaimed performances throughout the United States and Europe have established Stephen Caplan as a first-rate oboist and passionate advocate of new music. Caplan resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is recognized as an arts leader, performing music which "discourages the usual image of Las Vegas" (New York Times).
Principal oboist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic , he also plays in orchestras accompanying popular "superstars" on the Las Vegas Strip. Caplan is the only musical performer to win the Nevada Arts Council's prestigious Artist Fellowship three times. Professor of Music at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he is a member of the Sierra Winds, one of the nation's leading wind quintets. With this ensemble, Caplan has been featured on four critically acclaimed recordings and has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the Nevada Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Caplan's performances have been heard at venues such as the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall and have been featured on several recordings. His acclaimed solo recording, A TREE IN YOUR EAR, released by Musicians Showcase Recordings, features musical landscapes for oboe and English horn written by prominent American composers. Caplan is an Artist for one of the world's most prestigious oboe manufacturers--Rigoutat, Paris. He has been a concerto soloist with numerous orchestras including the New Orleans Philharmonic, Arctic Chamber Orchestra, and International Orchestra. His eclectic performance background includes professional affiliations with a baroque period-instrument ensemble and a Sousa style concert band, as well as soundtracks for television and film.
Stephen Caplan has performed as a soloist with many of classical music's leading musicians, including violinist Hilary Hahn, flutist Ransom Wilson and singer Jan de Gaetani. He has accompanied superstars as diverse as Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Roger Daltry, Dudley Moore, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti.
Caplan has recently developed a new course for oboe players, "Oboemotions." Based on his extensive study of Body Mapping, this course uses applied anatomy to encourage more expressive and more efficient oboe playing. Caplan has also been a featured clinician for "Nora Post's Oboe Blowout" and "California Double Reed Day." In 2001 he was a featured panelist for the International Double Reed Society's symposium on teaching. In addition, Caplan has given master classes at many of the leading music schools in the country.
As a student Caplan won many competitions and studied privately with some of the world's leading oboists. He has a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan. His principal teachers were Harry Sargous and Ray Still.