Life

Elaine Radoff was born in The Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens College, CUNY, where she studied with Karol Rathaus, Saul Novak and Leo Kraft

Leo Kraft

Leo Kraft is an American composer, author, and educator.He holds degrees from Queens College and Princeton University. He studied composition with Karol Rathaus, Randall Thompson, and Nadia Boulanger...

. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1954 and a PhD in 1971 from Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...

 where she studied with Irving Fine

Irving Fine

Irving Gifford Fine was an American composer. Fine's work assimilated neo-classical, romantic and, later, serial elements...

, Harold Shapero

Harold Shapero

Harold Samuel Shapero is an American composer.-Early years:Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Shapero and his family later moved to nearby Newton. He learned to play the piano as a child, and for some years was a pianist in dance orchestras. With a friend, he founded the Hal Kenny Orchestra, a swing-era...

, and Arthur Berger

Arthur Berger

Arthur Victor Berger was an American composer who has been described as a New Mannerist.-Biography:Born in New York City, of Jewish descent, Berger studied as an undergraduate at New York University, during which time he joined the Young Composer's Group, as a graduate student under Walter Piston...

. She continued her studies with Boris Blacher at the Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 Hochschule für Musik from 1956 to 1957.

After completing her studies, Barkin worked as a music educator, teaching at Queens College from 1964 to 1970, the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 from 1970 to 1974, Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 in 1974, and at the University of Southern California (UCLA) beginning in 1974. She has published professional articles in journals including Perspectives of New Music.

Works

Selected works include:

• Woodwind quartet (1956)
• Essay for orchestra (1957)
• String trio (1957)
• String quartet (1969)
• Inward and outward bound for chamber ensemble (1975)