Avi Kaplan

He was rumored to be in a relationship with fellow ‘Pentatonix’ member Kirstin “Kirstie” Maldonado, but these rumors were proved to be false. He keeps his relationships to himself.

Avi was born in the city of Visalia in California, US, on April 17, 1989, to Michael and Shelly Kaplan. He has a brother named Joshua and a sister named Esther.

His family is Jewish, and he was raised in a traditional Jewish environment. His Jewish roots made him a target of bullies in his childhood. He started displaying an interest in music at a tender age, and this interest was encouraged by his parents.

He started studying classical music at an early age and was interested in singing. He joined the choir of the church of the ‘Divisadero Middle School’ in his hometown in Visalia at the insistence of his friend Anjelica Chavez and the school choir teacher, Miss Manes.

He later joined ‘Mt. Whitney High School’ in his town. There, he was one of the few freshmen to be invited to join the choir.

At the age of 15, he learned how to play the guitar all by himself. He soon started performing at coffee houses in his hometown. In 2007, at the age of 18, he joined ‘Mt. San Antonio College’ in Walnut, California, US.

At the age of 16, he wrote his first song, ‘Collision.’ He wrote the song to commemorate his parents’ car accident involving six cars that had forced his mother to undergo a back surgery.

As a child, he trained in classical music and also developed an interest in American folk music. He would often visit the ‘Sequoia National Park’ near his hometown to gather inspiration for his style of music.

At ‘Mt. San Antonio College,’ he developed an interest in “a cappella” music and also participated in the choir. In 2008, he joined the “a cappella” group ‘Fermata Nowhere’ in his college. The group won the prestigious ‘International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella’ (ICCA).

At the ‘ICCA,’ he was also awarded the individual-category prize for the ‘Best Rhythm Section.’ The award was earlier known as the award for ‘Best Vocal Percussionist.’ He won the honor for his magnificent performances throughout the championship.

In his third year at ‘Mt. San Antonio College,’ he joined ‘Sincopation,’ an award-winning jazz group that had previously won the ‘Monterey Jazz Festival Competition.’ He traveled to many places in the world with this group and performed at prestigious venues such as ‘Lincoln Center’ and ‘Carnegie Hall’ in New York City.

As a member of ‘Pentatonix,’ he has won the ‘Grammy Award’ thrice. The band has also won awards at the ‘YouTube Music Awards’ and the ‘Shorty Awards’ and has been nominated for two ‘Billboard Music Awards’ and one ‘Daytime Emmy Award.’