Bernice Harbaugh received Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees cum laude from the Indiana University School of Music, where she was a student of Gyorgy Sebok. She has served on the faculties of the University of Miami, University of Vermont, University of Oklahoma, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Music Academy of the West.

As a collaborative pianist, she has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Eastern and Western Europe. She served as Artist-in-Residence and Principal Keyboardist of the Grand Rapids Symphony for fourteen years, as Principal Keyboardist of the New Haven Symphony for five years, and toured Europe as Keyboardist with the American Sinfonietta. She studied harpsichord and Baroque performance practice with Edward Parmentier at the University of Michigan. She performs every summer at the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Michigan, and appears regularly in recital with her husband, Ross Harbaugh.