Born in Mooi Rivier, a small town in Natal, she began training for a professional career with Daisy Holmes in Durban at the age of 19.
She made her professional debut in the United Kingdom in 1954 at the Canterbury Festival, singing the soprano part in Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah.
In 1956, she became the first winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and left the United Kingdom for Europe, where she studied with Maria Hittorff, Paula Köhler, Borishka Gereb, Mario and Katerina Baziola for voice production, and Edouardo Pedrazolli for opera.
Returning to the UK, she performed in several productions with Sadlers Wells and at the Royal Opera House which included major roles in Götterdämmerung and Die Walküre (Wagner), Mefistofele (Boito), and I Lombardi, Nabucco and Aida (Verdi).
In 1963, Joyce Barker returned to South Africa, where she resumed her singing career in opera, oratorio and cantatas for the four provincial arts councils, as well as in broadcast media.