In 1964, Dr. Bezanson was appointed to the faculty and named head of the Music Department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
An influential educator and composer, Philip Bezanson helped guide the Department of Music at UMass Amherst through its period of rapid expansion in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The work was commissioned by the NBC Opera Theatre and first performed on television on the Hallmark Hall of Fame program.
His notable students included Olly Wilson, M. William Karlins, Karen Tarlow, Bruce MacCombie,[6] Fred Tillis, and James Yannatos.
The Bezanson Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Center of the University of Massachusetts Campus is named in his honor.