Giifti Benti

Giifti Benti is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), where she studies with Dr. Shelly Monier. She serves as a piccolo player with the SIUE Wind Symphony, principal flutist of the SIUE Orchestra, and performs with the SIUE Flute Choir and Low Flute Collective. In addition to her university ensembles, she performs as second flute and piccolo with the Alton Symphony Orchestra. This will be her first season with the St Louis Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In high school, Benti participated in the Symphonic Band and the Illinois Music Education Association’s All District Honors band. She received a “Best of Day” award at the Illinois High School Association’s Solo and Ensemble competition her senior year. After spending a year in Springfield studying English, she realized that what she truly wanted to do was music, subsequently transferring to SIUE after her first year in college. Benti would like to thank her past teachers Alexandra Carpenter and Amanda Pond, and her current teacher Shelly Monier, to whom she owes everything she knows.

An active leader and educator, Benti is the President of the SIUE Flute Club and serves as an instructor at the Midwest Flute Institute summer camp. In 2025, she was awarded Second Place in the Flute Society of Saint Louis Young Artist Competition. In her free time, Benti enjoys reading, cooking and competitive trivia, as well as walking outdoors.