Rorem's father was a medical economist and worked for the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care in Washington, DC. His ideas and 1930 study contributed to the development of the later combined Blue Cross and Blue Shield medical insurance plans. The family moved to Chicago, where by 1942 the father worked for the American Hospital Association. Rorem showed an early interest in and talent for music. He received his early education at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and the American Conservatory of Music. He studied at Northwestern University before attending the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and the Juilliard School in New York City. Rorem was raised as a Quaker and refers to this in interviews in relation to his piece "A Quaker Reader", which is based on Quaker texts.