About Us
The Narrows String Quartet
6
Emilie Benigno
Violin
Emilie Benigno (she/her) is a violinist and teacher in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a passion for bringing music to communities. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from Ithaca College in 2016 and 2019 and actively seeks opportunities to connect with diverse audiences. From bringing symphonies to small towns, conducting the Ithaca College Gamer Symphony Orchestra, to performing brand new compositions alongside longstanding masterpieces at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, her performance experience reflects her values as a musician. Emilie has studied with Calvin Wiersma, Kyle Armbrust (viola), Susan Waterbury, Fritz Gearhart, and Sylvia Arahmjian. While studying, she performed in masterclasses for Christian Tetzlaff, David Feldman, and Mark Steinberg. She is an avid performer and has worked with numerous orchestras and ensembles such as Symphony Nova Scotia, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Catskill Symphony Orchestra, Opera Ithaca, the Ithaca New Music Collective, Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes and the Clinton Symphony Orchestra.
Sarah Frank
Violin
Based in Halifax, Sarah Frank plays in various folk, singer-songwriter, and classical settings, including as a violin sub with Symphony Nova Scotia. Her folk band, The Bombadils, has been nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards. The Montreal Gazette writes, “Sarah Frank’s fiddle and vocal harmonies add some stratospheric beauty.
Megan Bain
Viola
Megan Bain-Singer grew up in Halifax Nova Scotia. She started violin lessons at the age of four with Suzuki teacher Yvonne DeRoller and continued her studies in Halifax with George Maxman, Anne Rapson and Philippe Djokic. After high school, Megan spent two years of violin study at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Linda Cerone and David Updegraff. An overuse injury and curiosity to study science prompted Megan to return to Halifax, where she graduated from Dalhousie University in 2003 with combined BSC honours in Neuroscience and Music, studying the viola with Professor Philippe Djokic. Megan then traveled west to continue her viola studies with David Harding at the University of British Columbia, where she graduated with a Masters in Music in 2007. Megan picked up the viola during her high school years to play in many string quartets: the Dionysius string quartet, the Jubilee Quartet, who was often heard playing at Halifax’s brewery farmers market and many weddings and functions, and the Quantum quartet who won first prize at the National Music Festival. Megan performed with Symphony Nova Scotia for a year, and played in the viola section of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for seven years. She has played in the pit for many musicals and broadway shows, including Anne of Green Gables, The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera. Megan currently lives in Halifax with her husband, two children and dog, and teaches violin and viola at the Scotia Suzuki School of Music. Megan plays on her Grandmother’s viola: a 1925 Italian viola by Giuseppi Vitale.
Catherine Little
Cello
Catherine Little is a cellist, storyteller and teacher. She has performed with the cello sections of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá), le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Montréal), and Symphony Nova Scotia (Halifax), as well onstage with acts like Il Divo and Rod Stewart. Her cello playing appears on numerous recordings, including albums by Nova Scotian musicians, Jah’Mila, Dave Carroll, and Miles Goodwin. To date, Catherine has performed in over ten professionally staged musical and opera productions, seven of them with Halifax’s Neptune Theatre (Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast…). Originally from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, she graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Music Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Music Performance from the Université de Montréal. Catherine is the creator of ‘Get Ready to Learn the Cello’, an online course for adults learning to play cello for the first time, and publishes a bi-monthly newsletter – ‘Hello Cello!’ – for audiences interested in discovering the cello and classical music. Catherine is the winner of Music Nova Scotia’s Classical Album of the Year for ‘Taking Five’, an album recorded with pianist Gregory Myra. Together, they will be releasing a second album and touring their music across the maritimes in 2024. Catherine is also a member ofTrio KLM, a 2 cello + 1 bass ensemble, and the creator of cello gifts- greeting cards and tea featuring her relaxing and inspiring cello tracks.