Joyce Barthelson, born Helen Joyce Holloway on May 18, 1900, in Yakima, Washington, was a notable American composer, pianist, conductor, and educator. She graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1918 and pursued music studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where she was taught by prominent figures such as Julius Gold, Otto Cesana, Roy Harris, and Nicolas Flagello. During her high school years, she formed the Arion Trio, a chamber music group that gained regional recognition and frequently performed on San Francisco-area radio stations in the 1920s and 1930s.

Barthelson's career included roles as a staff pianist at NBC radio in San Francisco and KGO Oakland, and she served as assistant conductor of the New York Women's Symphony Orchestra. She was also a composer in residence at Western Maryland College in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In 1944, she co-founded the Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale, New York, with Virginia Hoff, which remains operational today.

As a composer, Barthelson created five operas, including "Chanticleer" (1967), which won first prize in a nationwide opera contest, "Feathertop" (1968), and "The Devil's Disciple" (1977). Her operatic works often featured librettos based on literary sources, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, O. Henry, and George Bernard Shaw.

In her personal life, Barthelson married Harold Charles Barthelson in 1921 and later married Benjamin Steigman, a principal of the New York City High School of Music & Art. She passed away in December 1986 in Scarsdale, New York. Throughout her life, Barthelson made significant contributions to American music through her compositions, performances, and dedication to music education.