Cantor John Kaplan was born in the great state of Texas. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Texas where he studied music and philosophy. Cantor Kaplan also holds a Master of Arts in Religion from the Memphis Theological Seminary. He has studied voice with the late Dr. Richard “Dick” Paige and Dr. Randall Rushing. He currently studies with Dr. Jemmi Lou Rye.
Cantor Kaplan received his cantorial training under Cantor Joseph Cycowski in Palm Springs, CA. He completed his training under Cantor William Sharlin, member of the faculty of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, CA. In 1989, he received Cantorial Certification and Investiture from the Board of Cantorial Certification of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music in New York.
Cantor Kaplan has performed
as soloist with the University of Memphis Oratorio Society under the
direction of Dr. Walter Wade. He has also performed as soloist with
the Memphis Symphony under the direction of Maestro Alan Balter (of
blessed memory), and Maestro David Loebel.
Cantor Kaplan is part of the 3 Cantors of Memphis. Each member of this
vocal ensemble serves one of the sister congregations in the Memphis
area (Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox).
Cantor Kaplan was one of the five founding directors of the MIFA Barrier
Breakers Choral Group. This choir, composed of adult volunteers representing
over 25 congregations from the Greater Memphis area, crossed the barriers
of race and faith in order to bring the blessings of unity, tolerance
and understanding to our community.
Cantor Kaplan is also the
founding director of Voices for Social Justice, a folk singing group
made up of 5 musicians from Temple Israel who donate their talents in
concert to raise funds for non-profit endeavors.
Cantor Kaplan has served on the Executive Board of the American Conference
of Cantors and currently serves as Chair for the Committee on Ethics
& Appeals for the American Conference of Cantors.
In areas of community involvement, Cantor Kaplan has served on the Board
of the Epilepsy Foundation of Memphis, the Arthritis Foundation of Memphis;
the Eldercare & Caregivers Advisory Board, the Advisory Board for
Emergency Services of MIFA, and Board President for the Memphis Area
Regional Aids Interfaith Network (RAIN), and as a member of the Spiritual
Advisory Board of Trinity Hospice. In 1991, Cantor Kaplan received the
Community Service Award in Interreligious Goodwill from the National
Conference for Community Justice.
Some of his special interests include reading, gardening, camping, cooking
(especially Texas style Bar-B-Que), volunteering for community service,
and music.
Cantor Kaplan is married to Linda C. Kaplan and they have three wonderful
and good-looking children, and a one year old granddaughter – “all above
average!”
We are a federally recognized non-profit 501c3 organization. Donations are tax exempt according to law.