Ursula started playing the violin as an eight-year-old in Christchurch. She has a special interest in Germany owing to her German heritage and was awarded a scholarship for postgraduate study there in 1982. Ursula remained in Germany for eight and a half years, the last three of which she worked full time with the Philharmonic Essen. In 1991, Ursula returned to New Zealand to take up a position in the NZSO. In 2003, she was a recipient of the Scottwood Trust-sponsored NZSO Study Bursary.
Ursula has continued her overseas experiences in later years. Accompanied by her husband, John, and daughter, Tessa, Ursula moved to London to pursue a Diploma of Continuing Professional Development at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. While studying there, she received weekly violin lessons with Brien Stait.
From 2007 to 2008, Ursula undertook a player exchange with Agnes Bilowitzki, first violinist in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Augsburb in Germany. Whilst living in Bavaria, Ursula and her family enjoyed bike rides in the surrounding countryside and tramping trips in the Alps. Meanwhile, Ursula experienced the varied repertoire in an orchestra that plays in opera and ballet productions as well as symphonic concerts.
Ursula returned to Germany when she was awarded a study bursary in 2015, studying with Prof. Sebastian Hamann and Simon Fordham in Freiburg and Munich respectively.