Born Dorothy Breitman in Montreal, Quebec, she studied piano with Stanley Gardner and then studied music theory and composition at McGill University with Claude Champagne, Violet Archer, Marvin Duchow and Douglas Clarke.
Morton went on to study piano at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal with Germaine Malépart and Isidor Philipp.
She continued taking private lessons with Philipp in New York City.
[1] She wrote the chapter on piano for the book Careers in Music: A Guide for Canadian Students (1986).
[3] The Dorothy Morton Visiting Artist Series Concert at McGill University was named in her honour.