Born as Ida Ruhdörfer, Halpern was raised mostly by her mother, Sabine, as her parents had separated in her early years. She began to learn piano at age six, and was instantly fascinated by the instrument. Halpern was enrolled first in public school, and then later in a private high school, where she studied the classical languages and German literature, practiced gymnastics, and furthered her interest in music. At age 19, she was struck with rheumatic fever, and was hospitalized for a year. Her heart never fully recovered, and as playing the piano more than casually would be too much of a strain, she turned her interests instead to musicology. In 1929, she entered the Musicological Institute at the University of Vienna, where she studied under Robert Lach, Egon Wellesz and Robert Haas. She married Georg Halpern, a chemist from the same university, in 1936, and moved with him to Italy, where she completed her dissertation. The couple returned to Vienna within the year. They were deciding on where to settle permanently, with South America especially in mind, when Nazis entered Vienna. As soon as Halpern defended her dissertation and received her Ph.D. in musicology, the couple escaped to Shanghai, not only because it was one of the few places in the world that did not require a visa, but also because Georg's sister taught at a college there. Shanghai was having its own difficulties due to the Sino-Japanese War, and so after a short stint working at the university, the Halperns left for Canada. As they were not farmers (the career the government required of most immigrants at the time), and the immigration board was suspicious of money the Halperns had been lent for their move, their situation was precarious for a time. Germany was now at war with Canada, and Halpern could not communicate with her original home. The friend who had lent them the money met with the immigration branch members and assured them that the money was lent in good faith, and the Halperns were allowed to stay. They settled in British Columbia, and made Vancouver their permanent home.