Olivia Beniston (G), piano

Presented by the Emerson/Harris Program for Private Study Solo Recital Series

Livestream: https://mta.mit.edu/viewlisten/live-killian-hall

About the Performers

Olivia Beniston is a graduate student earning her Masters in Chemical Engineering Practice. She previously obtained her B.S. in Chemical-Biological Engineering at MIT. She has studied piano with Eileen Huang in the Emerson Scholar Program for the past five years, and has performed works by Brahms, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Debussy and Ravel. In addition to her studies, she played piano for the MIT Symphony Orchestra and is active in the Chamber Music Society.

Olivia began studying piano at age 8 with Jill Telesco and continued studying with her throughout middle school and high school. She was also highly involved with music in her high school, performing violin with their Symphonic and Chamber Orchestras and serving as the school’s concert accompanist all four years. She has competed and won prizes at the Young Musicians Festival, The Schubert Club of Fairfield, the Crescendo Competition, and has performed at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. She furthered her devotion to music at the Royal Conservatory of Music, receiving top marks in her level 10 performance, history, and harmony and counterpoint exams.

Olivia will be wrapping up her time at MIT in the fall, where she will complete practice school at various industries. In her free time, Olivia enjoys completing puzzle books, planning events, and exploring Boston.

About the Emerson/Harris Program for Private Study

Support for private musical study is available for students through the Emerson/Harris Program (E/HP), which offers merit-based financial awards for outstanding achievement on instruments or voice in classical, jazz, or world music. Each academic year, the program awards Scholarships and Fellowships to nearly seventy students who commit to a full year’s study and participate in the musical life of MIT.

Auditions for the program are held at the beginning of each academic year. Private teacher selections, made in consultation with the E/HP jury heads, may include instructors from MIT staff and throughout Greater Boston. The Emerson/Harris Program is funded by the late Mr. Cherry L. Emerson, Jr. (SM, 1941), in response to an appeal from AssociateProvost Ellen T. Harris (Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus of Music). The Emerson/Harris Masterclass Series is supported, in part, by the Robert L. Malster (1956) Fund.