Born in South Africa, Elsabé  started playing the viola at the age of 12, where she took lessons at the local music school, Musicon, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Having later decided to study music, she was accepted to the University of the Free State, Odeion School of Music, where she graduated with a BMus (2010) and Honours Cum Laude (2012) in viola performance under the tutelage of Jeanne-Louise Moolman. After receiving scholarships and awards from the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the South African Peace Quartet Trust and Birmingham Conservatoire, Elsabé graduated with a MMus in Viola Performance (2015) at the Birmingham Conservatoire, UK, and is currently studying towards an Advanced Post-Graduate Diploma (Professional Performance) with Louise Lansdown.