She received a bachelor's degree in music at Barnard College, where her teachers included Otto Luening.
She received a master's degree from Columbia University, where her teachers included Luening, Douglas Moore, and Elliott Carter.
She continued her studies in seminars with Roger Sessions at the University of California at Berkeley,[4] and with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson.
[5] She wrote lyrics for 23 songs for the Captain Kangaroo television program, which Earl Rose set to music.
Other collaborators included Norris Turney, Jimmy Rowles, Paul Rosner, and Dick Chodosh.