Jeraldine Elizabeth Saunders Herbison was born on January 9, 1941, in Richmond, Virginia. She graduated with honors from Virginia State College in Petersburg in 1963, earning a Bachelor of Science in Music Education, with a major in Violin and double minors in Voice and Piano.

During her undergraduate and graduate studies, Herbison studied composition under notable instructors, including Undine Smith-Moore, known as the Dean of African American women composers, and Buckner Gamby at Virginia State University. She also studied with Tom Clark of Texas Southern University, Clare Boge at Hartt College during summer sessions at the University of Michigan division at Interlochen, and James Herbison at Hampton University.

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In 1993, Herbison's Cello Concerto was commissioned by the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra and premiered by cellist Dawn Foster Dodson under the baton of Professor Janise White. Her Viola Concertino was performed in 2013 by violist Stefan Smith and the Afro-American Chamber Music Society. The York River Symphony Orchestra performed her Canon and Fanfare from Symphony No. 1 in 2016. Herbison's recent works focus on solo and chamber music, including Soundscapes for Solo Flute and Piano performed at the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) convention at Christopher Newport University in 2012, Eight Duos for Flute and Violin premiered at the NACUSA concert at Chowan College in North Carolina in 2014, and Reflections Duos for Flute and Cello premiered at Hampton University in 2015.

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Herbison retired from Newport News Public Schools in 1998 after a 34-year career teaching string classes and directing orchestras in public schools across Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. Jeraldine was married to the late Dr. James P. Herbison, a renowned cellist and music faculty professor at Hampton University and a cellist with the Virginia Symphony, who often premiered her cello compositions.