Catherine Van Handel

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Catherine Van Handel joins The Cleveland Orchestra as Assistant Principal Bassoon in January 2026. She served as principal bassoon of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2025. Prior to joining the MSO, Van Handel held a tenured position as associate principal bassoon with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. While a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, she also served as principal bassoon of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. 

Van Handel has appeared as guest principal with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Grant Park Orchestra, and has performed with numerous other ensembles across the country, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Virginia Symphony, and Richmond Symphony. As a soloist, Van Handel has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the President’s Own US Marine Band, and the Juilliard School Pre-College Orchestra, among others.  

A dedicated educator, Van Handel has served on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, University of Toronto, and Brevard Music Center. She has given masterclasses at institutions such as the New World Symphony, National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, National Orchestral Institute and Festival, Glickman-Popkin Bassoon Camp, and Escuela de Artes Musicales in San José, Costa Rica.  

Her festival participation includes Marlboro, Tanglewood, the Mainly Mozart Festival, Pacific Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and Castleton Music Festival, to name a few. In 2023, she released her debut album, Bassoon Soirée: From Latin America to Paris, and performed as soloist with the MSO in the recorded premiere of David Ludwig’s Pictures from the Floating World.  

Van Handel earned her Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Daniel Matsukawa. She began piano at age 4, cello at age 5, and started the bassoon at 14. Her teachers include Joyce Kelley and Marc Goldberg. 

Catherine and her husband, Fischer, have a 1-year-old son, Sebastian, and a Samoyed dog named Tofu. When Catherine is not performing, she enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, cooking, hiking, discovering new restaurants, traveling, and scuba diving.