Ghislaine Petit-Volta studied the harp with Brigitte Sylvestre, Pierre Jamet, then Gérard Devos and Christian Lardé at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she obtained a First Prize for harp in 1981 and a First Prize for chamber music in 1982.

Regularly solicited by major orchestras (Opéra de Paris, Orchester National de France, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchester de Paris, Ensemble orchestral de Paris, Ensemble intercontemporain, Orchester Philharmonique de Berlin), Ghislaine Petit-Volta works under the direction of conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Sir Georg Solti, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Gary Bertini, Armin Jordan, Jeffrey Tate or even Simon Rattle.

Open to all forms of expression, she participates in numerous creations with the ensembles Fa, Musique Oblique, Court Circuit, the Criée festival in Marseille, the autumn festival in Paris and collaborates with contemporary composers such as Claude Prey, Félix Ibarrondo, John Cage, Ton That Tiêt, Lindolfo Bicahilo, Eryck Abecassis, Fineberg, Favio Daiban, Jean Marc Singier.

From 2002 to 2004 Ghislaine Petit-Volta experimented with the world of musical theater with the Chœur en Scène ensemble directed by Emmanuelle Dubost with whom she created Les Rechants du Mal Aimé, based on a poem by Guillaume Apollinaire set to music by Lindolfo Bicalho at the Studio Theater in Alfortville, the Massy and Ivry Theaters and the Vaison-la-Romaine Festival.

Ghislaine Petit-Volta has made several recordings, Trouvères at the court of Champagne with the Ensemble Venance Fortunat at Harmonia Mundi, the Trios with harp by Pierre Vellones at REM, Pli according to Pli under the direction of its composer Pierre Boulez at Deutsche Grammophon

In 1990, she wrote for ARTE a TV movie on Pierre Jamet, Un siècle de harpe, directed by Michka Gorki.

Holder of the Certificate of Aptitude for the functions of teacher, she is a teacher at the National Conservatory of the Paris Region and at the Higher Pole of Paris Boulogne. She also gives master classes in France and abroad (Korea, England and Japan).