Bresnick was born and raised in the Bronx, and is a graduate of New York Citys specialized High School of Music and Art. He was educated at the University of Hartford, Stanford University, and the Akademie f&#252-r Musik, Vienna, and studied composition with John Chowning, Gyorgy Ligeti and Gottfried von Einem. He went on to teach at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Stanford University and the Yale School of Music.