Alan Mar moved to New Mexico from Santa Barbara, California in 1995 after completing graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of California and is currently a research scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. Alan began playing the violin in the fifth grade and was Concertmaster of the Pasadena Youth Symphony for two years before entering Occidental College to study Physics. After performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Occidental-CalTech Symphony, Alan took a prolonged hiatus from the violin to attend graduate school.

Upon arriving in Albuquerque, Alan again took up the violin, studying with Leonard Felberg. Alan plays in numerous ensembles throughout New Mexico, including The Santa Fe Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and the Las Cruces Symphony.