Griffel graduated from
High School of Music & Art, in
Manhattan,
New York in 1961. She earned a B.A. from
Barnard College in 1965, M.A. in European and American History from
Boston University in 1966, and a Ph.D. in musicology from
Columbia University in 1975. She has served as the senior editor at Columbia University's Office of Publications and has done editorial work for various publishers. Her January 2018 revised edition of
Operas in German: A Dictionary contains more than 4,500 entries and her December 2012 revised edition of
Operas in English: A Dictionary contains 4,400. ==Awards==