Livio Ventura starts private piano lessons at the age of 10 whilst living in Athens with his family. At the age of 14 enrolls at the Conservatory of Music in Madrid and begins formal music training – studying solfege and piano. Livio’s piano playing is awarded first prize for three consecutive years. In 1980 auditions and is admitted as a piano student at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he studies piano with Liliana Vallazza.

In 1983 registers at the School of Music of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and is captivated by the African musical language.

Livio’s interest in composition is stimulated by attending lectures and master classes of the following visiting and attending composers: Malcolm Forsyth, Henk Temmingh, Stefans Grové, Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, Violeta Dinescu, Bruce Cassidy. Under the guidance of Carl van Wyk, a prominent South African composer and composition lecturer, Livio receives in 1986 his Bachelor of Music with Honors in composition. In 1987 receives a study bursary for a Music Composition Master course at the Witwatersrand University and starts working on a symphony for orchestra, reading voice and magnetic tape (De rerum musicalis). The same year receives a commission by the South African Music Guild to compose a violin and piano piece to be premiered at the SAMG concert series. In 1988 De Rerum Musicalis is awarded 1st Prize at the Total Music Collection Competition and is performed by the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation orchestra conducted by Walter Mony. In 1989 South African guitarist Tessa Ziegler records Livio’s composition on her CD. The following year Livio receives his Masters in Music Composition from the University of the Witwatersrand. After a period of reflection, Livio’s musical journey of the South African province Mpumalanga – in its Pierrot ensemble version – is performed in Italy in 2010.

Livio is currently studying conducting with Benedetto Montebello at the Conservatory of Music in Latina, Italy.