When Singer was four years old, she relocated with her family to Portland, Oregon, where her father served as lead conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra from 1962 to 1972. Singer spent her formative years in Portland, and made her debut as soloist at the age of thirteen with the Oregon Symphony. She attended Lincoln High School in Portland. In the summer of 1971, Singer and brother Gregory attended a summer music camp in New York led by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.