Helen Gifford was educated at Tintern Junior School and Melbourne Girls Grammar. She received a Commonwealth Scholarship for a music degree course at Melbourne University Conservatorium. There she studied piano with Roy Shepherd and harmony with Dorian Le Gallienne, gaining her Bachelor of Music in 1958.
In 1973 Gifford was awarded a Senior Composer's Fellowship, and in 1974
was appointed Composer-in Residence to the Australian opera. (Source: Music Australia website)
