2026 Residents

Introducing the resident artists of the 2026 Windwood Music Festival!

  • Violin

    Violinist Da Young (Rachel) Lim is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University under the tutelage of Jennifer Frautschi and Philip Setzer, where she is the recipient of a full-tuition scholarship. As a chamber music enthusiast, she is a founding member of the Varick Trio, formed in 2024, which presents programs throughout Long Island with a focus on storytelling, healing, and cross-cultural engagement. Rachel has appeared as a soloist with the Allentown, Ambler, and Temple University Symphony Orchestras and has served as concertmaster of the New England Conservatory Symphony and Philharmonia 

    orchestras, as well as principal second violinist of the Stony Brook Chamber Orchestra. She has participated in festivals including Fontainebleau in France, Green Mountain Chamber Music, Tanglewood, Yellow Barn, and Music@Menlo. Born in South Korea, she immigrated to the United States at age twelve and holds degrees from Yale University and New England Conservatory.

  • Violin

    Alexander “Sasha” Yakub completed his graduate diploma in 2024 on a full scholarship as the first and only student of Leila Josefowicz at the Mannes School of Music, where he also received his master’s as a President’s Scholar under Miranda Cuckson in 2022. Sasha holds a bachelor's in Music from Harvard, where he received the 2020 Robert Levin Prize in Musical Performance and a 2019 Office for the Arts Artist Development Fellowship. Sasha was a 2022-2024 Akademist at the Lucerne Festival, 2021 Bang On a Can Summer Festival Fellow, 2020 Yamaha Young Artists Competition honorable mention winner, and 2017-18 Tanglewood Music Center Fellow, during the second year of which he served as concertmaster for the 2018 Myrios recording of In Seven Days by Thomas Adès. The eponymous album—containing it—was the 2021 winner of the contemporary category in the International Classical Music Awards. In 2024, he won runner-up at the Mannes School of Music Concerto Competition for his performance of Adès’ Concentric Paths violin concerto; last summer, he led the Davos Festival Camerata in Switzerland as co-concertmaster. Last month, Sasha was a quarter-finalist in the Mozarteum’s International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. Sasha has also contracted with the American Composers Alliance and has served as rotating concertmaster with the New England Repertory Orchestra. Upcoming in the spring of 2026 is Sasha’s debut recital tour as a roster artist with the Piatigorsky Foundation, as well as his participation in the final round of the Lowell Chamber Orchestra’s International Young Artist Competition.

  • Viola

    An active orchestral player, chamber musician, and recitalist, violist Chris Gokelman is completing his DMA at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is a frequent substitute violist with the San Antonio Philharmonic, Austin Symphony, Akron and Canton Symphony Orchestras, and has held fellowship positions at numerous summer festivals including Bang on a Can, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival. 


    Chris is passionate about contemporary music and improvisation and loves exploring and performing works written by new, underperformed, and underrepresented composers, frequently planning recitals around such programming. He has performed alongside Sō Percussion and members of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and has participated in Oberlin’s Performance & Improvisation Ensembles program and CIM’s Global Music Ensemble, working with and performing alongside Jay Ashby, Jamey Haddad, and Mike Block. 


    He is currently working on his doctoral project: practical applications of heart-brain coherence and the mind-body connection for the 21st-century musician so that players can enjoy greater musical autonomy in their performances. Chris is passionate about helping students develop their personal artistic voice and interests across many styles of music, focusing on helping each individual nurture the unique relationship between the instrument and their own body.


    Chris previously received his masters in viola performance with a Eurhythmics concentration from CIM, as well as a B.M. in viola performance and a B.A. in psychology from Oberlin College & Conservatory. His teachers include Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Peter Slowik, Allyson Dawkins, and Christopher Parsons.

  • Cello

    Julia Weldon is a distinguished cellist who recently joined the Eugene Symphony, bringing with her a rich background in orchestral and chamber music performance. Her professional journey includes membership in the cello sections of the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado, and the prestigious Toho Orchestra Academy in Japan. Throughout her career, Julia has held principal positions with several notable ensembles, including the Sinfonia de l’Ouest, McGill Symphony Orchestra, and the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra.


    Beyond traditional orchestral settings, Julia actively engages with diverse musical communities. With Trio Eudaemonia, she participated in the International Music Workshop and Festival in Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany, while also performing at hospitals, retirement facilities, and private salons. She regularly collaborated with Dublin House, a string collective based in Montreal, playing at weddings and community events. Notably, the Dublin House String Quartet recorded and performed a composition by a local elementary school music teacher for his students.


    Committed to fostering institutional collaboration, Julia and colleague Rebekah Dennis received a McGill grant to create "Dialogues in Performance," a symposium for graduate music students featuring research, performances, and discussions. The event included faculty guest lectures by Professors Andrea Creech and Emmanuel Tabi, plus a premiere by student composer Peter Min.


    Currently teaching with the Albany Youth Orchestra and building a private studio in Eugene, Julia previously instructed with Encore! Sistema Québec and Vanier College Music School. Her mentors include Brian Manker, Anna Burden, Amir Eldan, Hisaya Dogin, Julie Albers, Jonathan Ruck, and Emily Stoops. Julia holds master's and bachelor's degrees in cello performance from McGill University and Oberlin Conservatory, along with a BA in East Asian Studies from Oberlin College.

  • Piano

    Pianist Joseph Vaz has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician across North America and Europe, in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna.


    Born in Faro, Portugal, Joseph now lives in New York City, where he is the 2025-2027 piano fellow for Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, and is also a doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center. Vaz has studied with renowned performers and pedagogues, including Julian Martin, Ran Dank, and Emile Naoumoff.


    Joseph frequently performs at international festivals, including recent appearances at the Gilmore Piano Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, Lucerne Festival Academy, and Aspen Music Festival. He has been lucky to have the opportunity to collaborate alongside Charles Neidich, Marin Alsop, Susan Botti, Emile Naoumoff, Mike Block, Peter Volpe, Sylvia Kahan, and other inspirational mentors. His orchestral debut came with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 2015, and he has also performed as soloist with Harmonia Orchestra Seattle, the Seven Hills Sinfonietta and other orchestral ensembles.


    Joseph is a dedicated collaborator, and regularly performs chamber music on series in New York City and beyond. As a proponent of new music, Joseph has worked closely with several composers on pieces for world premieres. His debut album, “Galanteries” was released by PARMA Recordings in January 2025, and has been heard on radio stations throughout the USA. Outside of music, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in French from Indiana University, and loves reading fiction.