Do-re-mi, do-re-mi, do-re-mi.

The new chorus teacher just happens to be…

Ms. Elizabeth Cid. That’s right. Ms. Cid took over Dr. Kunze’s chorus and guitar classes and has a lot to bring to the table.

New at MHS

As the new chorus teacher at Miami High, Ms. Cid has had to adjust to the high school scene. She had only taught chorus in middle school before. The school that she taught in was Renaissance Middle Charter School in Doral.

She felt that she needed to move on with her teaching, so it was not difficult for her to leave her last job. “I chose to teach here because the opportunity was open to me and I had always wanted to teach high school,” she said.

She has a good opinion of the people at Miami High, saying that they were “extremely nice and helpful! Including the students!”

As the Chorus Teacher

Besides having previous teaching experience, Ms. Cid has other credentials for teaching chorus, including the fact that she is currently working on her Masters in Choral Music Education.

Ms. Cid has a personal reason for teaching chorus as well. “I have wanted to teach chorus since I was back in high school.  It changed my life for the better, and now it is my turn to give back all the amazing things I got from it,” she said.

Changes to the Chorus Class

Though she has just started teaching at Miami High, Ms. Cid has already started implementing changes to the chorus class. She wants the class to be more competitive and is planning to have more performances. She even wants to start a glee club.

She is planning a winter concert for all chorus classes and will also have them participate in the Caroling Competition and Music Performance Assessment. She is hoping that the chorus students can make it to state.

Some of the students have had a hard time adjusting to her class. Senior Roxana Ortiz, who has taken the chorus class for 4 years in MHS, thinks that the class is a lot more serious than what it was with Dr. Kunze. “I’m not used to it, and it’s probably going to take me a while to get used to it,” she says. “I’m still adjusting.”

Senior Andy Pelegrino, another student who has taken chorus classes in MHS for 4 years, admits that he had trouble adjusting during the first week of the class, but it has gotten easier over time.

Despite the difficulties, some of the students have high regards for the changes and Ms. Cid as a teacher. “Ms. Cid has a lot of good ideas. Obviously, she knows what she’s doing,” said Roxana Ortiz. One change that Roxana finds beneficial is that Ms. Cid teaches various types of vocal exercises.

“She does have a lot of background knowledge and she’s been taught really well,” said Andy Pelegrino. Instead of teaching in 1,2,3,4,5, meaning notes, she teaches in do-ray-me-fa-so.” Though he admits that this new teaching method confuses him, he still finds it effective.

Personal Life

In her personal time, Ms. Cid enjoys going to the beach, scrapbooking, travelling and is a pianist by trade.  Greece is where she wants to travel to the most. Ms. Cid is proud of the fact that she was able to buy a house at her age.

Ms. Cid has always lived in Miami and her favorite place to go to is the Perez Art Museum. “It is my favorite view of Miami,” she says. “The park. The ocean. The city skyline. It’s peaceful.”

Even during summer vacation, Ms. Cid would still be working. Over the summer she was at FSU working on the second semester for her degree and her goal is to earn her Ph.D. in this field. She also wants to write a book and conduct both an All-State Choir and All-National Choir.