Katherine St. John is entering her 30^th year with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, having started in the 1992-93 season.  Katherine was acting Principal Bassoon from 2009 to 2015 and is currently back in her original position of Second Bassoon.  In addition to performing with the CSO, Kathy plays chamber music with many of her friends, teaches talented young bassoonists throughout the Charleston area and taught for several years at CSU as Adjunct Professor of Bassoon. One of her performance highlights is performing a Vivaldi concerto with Charles Wadsworth at the harpsichord keyboard in the Dock Street Theatre for the Spoleto Festival Chamber Music Series.

Kathy grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and received her Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio. Her primary teachers have been George Goslee, former Principal Bassoon of the Cleveland Orchestra for an unprecedented 45 years, David McGill, former Principal Bassoon with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Carl Nitchie, former Principal Bassoon of the Atlanta Symphony.

While still in Ohio, Kathy was Principal Bassoon of the Canton Symphony for four years before moving to Charleston. She was Acting Principal Bassoon with the Akron Symphony for a season and Second Bassoon with Pro Musica, a Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio. In Cleveland, she free-lanced as Principal Bassoon with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland New Music Association, and the Ohio Ballet. Summer Festivals include the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado, the National Orchestral Institute in Baltimore, the Waterloo Music Festival at Princeton University, the Sarasota Chamber Music Festival, and the New Southwest Orchestra in Albuquerque, NW. 

Kathy is married to frequent audience member and her biggest fan, Michael St. John, an Electrical Engineer from Georgia Tech. “Kashew” (as she’s called by her many nieces and nephews) enjoys traveling to visit friends and family scattered across the country. She also enjoys puzzles, gardening (not to be confused with actual lawn work!), making stained glass panels, and really dark chocolate.