Members of the Benvenuti family were prominent musicians in Padua, Italy, for many generations. In 1871 Antonio Benvenuti (1820–1896) emigrated to Queensland where he taught violin, opened a music school, and with his three sons formed the Benvenuti Orchestra. Luigi Benvenuti (1859–1934) played the double bass and Italo Benvenuti (1861–1932) played the oboe in the Brisbane Orchestral Society, the Brisbane Musical Union and other groups. Their brother Victor Benvenuti (1864–1921) was a pianist, but was better known as a teacher and orchestral conductor. He composed a number of songs, including Australia‘s Call to Arms and Duke and Duchess of York‘s march (1901).
Leo Benvenuti (1900–1975), who was the son of Luigi, was a violinist and a member of various theatre orchestras and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He was a well-known figure in Brisbane and was often asked to organise musical events at Government House. Together with other members of his family, he assembled a huge collection of orchestral and chamber music, band arrangements, piano music and songs that they hired out to theatre and cinema orchestras and the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra.