At DePaul University, Bazelon studied composition with Leo Stein, who fostered Bazelon's growth as a composer. Works from this time are juvenile, but show his rapid growth of compositional skills and his strong artistic vision. He graduated from DePaul with a Bachelor's (1944) and Master's (1945) in music.)
Bazelon continued on to Yale University to study composition with Paul Hindemith. Unfortunately, Bazelon could not adapt to Hindemith's teaching methods and in less than a year, moved to Oakland, California to study with Darius Milhaud at Mills College from 1946 through 1948.) Bazelon credits Milhaud as having the greatest influence on the composer's creative life.