Joan Balter was born in New York City. She studied violin at the Manhattan School of Music preparatory division at the High School of Music and Art with Rachmael Weinstock. She received her bachelor's degree in music and psychology from Bennington College and was a member of the Vermont Symphony from 1970 to 1974. Ms. Balter taught violin, viola, and cello in the public schools and conducted the Essex Junction Educational Center Orchestra (Vermont) from 1972 to 1974. From 1974 to 1977 she attended the Violin-Making School of America in Salt Lake City and apprenticed at Cremona Violin Makers and Dealers in San Francisco from 1978 to 1982. Since 1982 she has been the sole proprietor of Balter Violins in Berkeley, California. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Crowden Music Center, and has been visiting faculty at the New World Symphony since 2016. She has given numerous workshops and seminars on violin-making, repair, and buying instruments and bows. Ms. Balter has been the official luthier of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 1979.