Gadd grew up in Ourimbah, New South Wales, and learned to play violin at three years old.

[2] Her family listened to Alfred Ernest Floyd's Music Lover’s Hour on ABC Radio, and performances by classical musicians.

[1] She won prizes in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod,[3][4][5] and was enrolled in the Conservatorium High School in 1954.

They taught at Pittsburgh and Washington (state) and married in 1970, when he was 62, and returned to Australia permanently in 1981,[8] after occasionally visiting on tour.

[10][7] She performed as part of The Macquarie Trio with pianist Kathryn Selby and cellist Michael Goldschlager,[11] who formed in 1993 and were considered one of Australia's premier chamber music groups.