She is a teacher and composer of electronic music. Her soundscapes have been heard at New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and at the Munich Biennale in the multi-media work, Mother of Three Sons by Leroy Jenkins and Bill T. Jones. Her collaborations with governments, music centers of the world and international consortia commissions have yielded such ground-breaking works as X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X and Amistad by Anthony Davis with Thulani Davis and George C. Wolfe; The Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin: The Promisedland by Julius Hemphilll and Bill T. Jones, and Mother of Three Sons.

In the fall of 2000, Herbst was appointed to the International Advisory Board of Directors for the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago. She is a member of the International Society of Performing Artists, a founding member and past president of the National Association of Performing Artists Managers, and a twenty-five year member of the American Symphony Orchestra League.