[1] The daughter of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants, she was born in Montreal, Quebec.

In 1906, she moved to New York City, where she studied with Rafael Joseffy[2] and Rubin Goldmark.

In March 1910, she gave her debut concert there, performing with the New York Symphony.

Ballon appeared on the CBC television show Heure du concert.

[1] Ballon was described by Arthur Rubinstein as "the greatest pianistic genius I have ever met".