Sterne's performance career began at the age of twelve when she appeared with the NBC Symphony and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Her mother was a professional cellist who retired from her career to advance her daughter's musical development.

The New York Times said of her performance, "Although several critics noted that the 13-year-old Ms. Sterne lacked the strength to fully handle the work's thundering octave passages, they uniformly praised her temperament, singing tone and impressive technique.

At sixteen, she gave a full recital at the Brooklyn Museum, where she performed Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.

She produced recordings by American composers George Crumb, Elliott Carter, Morton Subotnick, Charles Wuorinen and Donald Martino, and commissioned original music by them.