Benita was born in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of British Columbia with a song in her heart. She had the classic musicians woven into her being from the get-go with the gems of the Classical world, Italian opera, Southern Gospel, and many other famous musicians blaring from the old family stereo. Benita has always had an irresistible pull toward music. It has been a constant joy and influence in her life and made her who she is today.

 

Her pursuit of music began early. Already at the age of 1 she’d heave herself up onto a well-used wooden piano bench and begin playing her masterpieces with exuberance and careful precision, one pudgy finger at a time.

 

Violin also piqued her interest at a young age. Following in her older sister’s footsteps...literally...Benita would plant her feet in position, take up her make-shift “violin” of two old rulers, and faithfully accompany her sister’s daily practice.

 

Over the years, Benita also discovered that singing opera in the shower, at the top of her lungs, gave great acoustics and was an effective way to entertain her family.

 

Finally, having persuaded her parents that she would "really practice violin every day", Benita started violin lessons of her own at the age of 7 with an incredibly, gifted Suzuki teacher. This began the formal training that would begin to reveal and develop the depth of her talents. After 10 years of fiddling away she decided that it was time to pursue the piano. So she switched gears and feverishly worked away for countless hours, eventually achieving her life-long goal of receiving her ARCT in Piano Performance.

 

In 2013 Benita married and moved from British Columbia and began – PIANORAMA, a budding and growing music studio in her Hamilton home. Benita continues to use her piano, violin (and voice when no one’s around) to express and share her deep love for music, inspiring others along the way.