Biographies

Biographies

Violin 1: Peter Chen began playing the violin at age 4. From ages 6 to 19 he studied with John Bauer, who is on the music faculty at the University of South Carolina. Throughout high school, he played with the Columbia Philharmonic Orchestra, the South Carolina Chamber Orchestra, and the SC All-State Orchestra. He was also served as concertmaster for the Columbia Youth Orchestra for three years. During college, he played with the Cornell Symphony Orchestra and took lessons with Sonya Monosoff. While earning his graduate degree, he played with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Symphony Orchestra and studied with Tyrone Greive. Peter spends his days as a chemistry professor at a local college.

Violin 2: Deborah Geering

"You should find yourself a nice, solid profession," advised one of Deborah Geering's first violin teachers. But, establishing a habit that would follow her throughout her musical career, Deborah refused to listen. Thirty years later, she still marches to the beat of her own drummer, in her own key ... occasionally during ensemble rehearsals.

Her teachers have had plenty to say about her talents. "Ouch," said George Taylor, a member of the Ciompi String Quartet with whom Deborah studied at Duke University, where she held an A.J. Fletcher music scholarship. "Go walk the dog," Elaine Skorodin Fohrman would exclaim during earlier lessons. The warm guidance of former Atlanta Symphony Orchestra member Susan Pitard-Acree included phrases such as, "That's interesting."

Deborah has played in orchestras including the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Northbrook (Illinois) Symphony, the Duke University Orchestra, Atlanta Community Symphony, Dekalb Symphony, Orchestra Atlanta, and now the Georgia Philharmonic, where she is even permitted on stage. She has played with the After Five String Quartet since its founding in 1998.

When she's not playing or practicing, Deborah works as a freelance journalist.

For all of Deborah's joking in this little autobiography, she is a very solid player with impeccable intonation and technique. - Carla Boardman Padron

Viola: Carla Boardman Padrón studied piano at a very early age, and became interested in the violin at age 10. In her youth she attended many music festivals, including Eastern Music Festival in 1984 and was active in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Petersburg Symphony. While pursuing a math degree at Virginia Commonwealth University, she played with the VCU Symphony conducted by David Commanday. She attributes much of her musical skill to Mr. Commanday's talent and teaching technique. From 1991 to 1998 she played with the Greensboro Philharmonia in North Carolina, serving as associate concertmaster during her last two seasons there. She began playing with Orchestra Atlanta in 1998, and decided to expand her horizons by taking up the viola. After founding the After Five String Quartet with co-members, she began arranging various pieces for the quartet, including some requests for weddings. Later she started her own company called Boardman Music Publishing, LLC and began publishing her arrangements. So far she has composed one original piece. Carla married pianist and composer Daniel Padrón in 2004 and occasionally performs with him as the Obsidian Duo. She works a day job as a technical writer.

Cello: Gianmarco Pugliese began playing the cello at age eight, and began studying privately at 13. He has studied with Alice Williams at the Georgia Academy of Music and with Dr. David Starkweather at the University of Georgia where he majored in International Business and Music Performance. During middle school and high school, he received various awards for solo and chamber performances. He was also the recipient of the Northside School of Performing Arts Most Outstanding Musician college scholarship. He has played with several orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, Georgia All-State Orchestras, Gainesville Symphony Orchestra, Dekalb Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta-Emory Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Atlanta and is a founding member of the Georgia Philharmonic. When asked how he has managed to play with so many orchestras, Gianmarco replies, "Typically, I would sneak into rehearsal when the security guard was asleep." He has also played with various quartets throughout Atlanta. He has an MBA and MS in computer science and spends his days as a computer analyst.