About Us

Violin 1: Rachel Rodriguez began her violin studies at age 8 in Greensboro, North Carolina. She studied privately with Wendy Rawls and later as a summer student at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts. She served as principal second violinist in the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra and played with the North Carolina All-State Honors Orchestra as well as throughout the Greensboro community in a freelance string quartet. Later, while studying history and political science at Duke University, Rachel served as principal second violinist of the Duke Symphony Orchestra and worked as a concert manager for Duke's music department. She joined the Candlelight String Quartet after graduating from Duke and moving to Atlanta in 2008. In her "day job," Rachel is a producer and writer at CNN. She has also played with the Georgia Philharmonic and performs with a local dance company.

Violin 2: Ann Hoevel (Coming soon!)

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. From 1991 to 1998 she played with the Greensboro Philharmonia in North Carolina, serving as associate concertmaster during her last two seasons there.

After moving to Atlanta in 1998, Carla began playing with Orchestra Atlanta iand decided to expand her horizons by taking up the viola. Also in 1998, she founded the After Five String Quartet with co-members and 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 July 2004 and occasionally performs with him as a jazz violin-piano duo. In 2008, she decided to take a rest from a hectic performance schedule and left the After Five String Quartet. After a year off, she joined the Candlelight String Quartet at the end of 2009. Carla works a day job as a technical writer / instructional designer.

Cello: Christa Benoit Fey began playing the cello at age 13. Her early experience included playing in the Georgia Academy of Music Cello Choir and High School Orchestra. On graduating from high school, Christa received a full music scholarship from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga where she studied with Dr. James Stroud. After two years, she transferred to the University of Georgia and studied with Dr. David Starkweather. While at UGA, Christa was able to experience a master class with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She also has played with several orchestras across the USA.

In 1998 the After Five String Quartet was formed, with Christa as the cellist. She played with the quartet until 2001 when she moved to Germany. On her return to Atlanta in 2002, she played as a substitute with After Five anytime their regular cellist had a schedule conflict. On occasion, Christa led a second quartet when the After Five String Quartet was already booked. This eventually inspired her to found the Candlelight String Quartet in 2004.

When not performing or rehearsing, Christa works as a property & casualty insurance agent at a local independent agency and spends her free time with her son, Joey.