Accomplished in a wide variety of styles, including classical, world music, rock and free improvisation, she came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana from 1993–1994 and appears on their live album MTV Unplugged in New York.

[2] Raised in the Long Island town of East Meadow, Goldston received training on cello, guitar, piano, and voice.

At Bennington College, Goldston trained with Maxine Neuman, Milford Graves, Arthur Brooks, Vivian Fine, and Frank Baker.

[5] In the mid-nineties, Goldston rose to prominence in the Pacific Northwest music scene as a session cellist, notably joining Nirvana on a US tour and appearing on their famous MTV Unplugged in New York set.

Meanwhile, with the Black Cat Orchestra, she toured and recorded for prominent national acts, including David Byrne (on his 1997 album Feelings),[6] the One Reel Film Festival (at that time under the aegis of Bumbershoot),[2] and NPR's This American Life.

[10] In 2005, Goldston formed another ensemble, Instead Of, with Angelina Baldoz (trumpet, flute, and bass), Jaison Scott (drums), and Torben Ulrich (text and vocals).

[13] She has also worked on numerous dramas, and as a co-creator (with Stacey Levine and Goldston's partner Kyle Hanson) of the puppet opera The Wreck of the St. Nikolai (2003) for On the Boards and the radio play The Post Office.

[14] Goldston has worked on performances with composers including Eyvind Kang, Jherek Bischoff, Cynthia Hopkins, Malcolm Goldstein, Matana Roberts, Terry Riley, Eddie Prevost, Steve Moore, Bob Marsh, Olivia Block, Byron Au Yong, Erin Jorgensen, Bill Horist, Threnody Ensemble, Scott Fields, Christian Asplund, and Julio Lopezhiler.

Buzz Gundersen), Paul Hoskin, Ellen Fullman, Angelina Baldoz, Ed Pias, Vanessa Renwick, Greg Campbell, Stuart Dempster, Dan Sasaki, and Clyde Petersen.

With an emphasis on improvisational work, Goldston has composed on-the-spot in performances with Lonnie Holley, Vratislav Brabenec, Ilan Volkov, Amy Denio, Thollem McDonnas, Mazen Kerbaj, Marika Anderson, Dan Peek, Balász Pándi, Kanako Pooknyw, Stuart Dempster, Dana Reason, Mary Oliver, and Jaap Blonk.

[25] In January 2017, Goldston was commissioned to compose and perform a solo acoustic cello score for Étude's Paris Fashion Week runway show.

[3] Most recently, Goldston's work with Steve Fisk and Alexander Miranda was nominated for Best Score for Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust at the 2021 IDA Documentary Awards.