VanDerveer was born on June 26, 1953, to Dunbar and Rita VanDerveer, who named their first child "Tara" after the plantation in "Gone with the Wind". She was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, a part of Greater Boston, but grew up in a small town in West Hill, near Schenectady, New York. Her parents were interested in a well-rounded education. Her father was studying for a doctorate at the school now known as the University at Albany. He took the family to Chautauqua Institution in the summer, where she immersed in arts as well as sports. She still holds the Chautauqua Boys and Girls Club record for the longest Softball throw in 1967. At the age of ten, her parents bought her a flute, and arranged for lessons. Two years later, one of the premier flutists in the world was staying in Chautauqua, and her father arranged for lessons with this distinguished teacher. Although she learned to play, she did not enjoy the experience, and gave up the flute in ninth grade. The love of music stayed with her though, and in later years she would take up the piano.