(More) Songs Ms. Owen Taught Me (In Memoriam)

Jul 1, 2026

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in Elizabeth Joan Owen, Elizabeth Joan Owen (Ms. Owen), Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Personal Thoughts, South Miami Senior High School

Wednesday, July 1, 2026 – Orlando, Florida

“The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.” — H.L. Mencken

In loving memory of Ms. Elizabeth Joan Owen (September 8, 1929 – December 28, 2025), the near‑legendary director of several choral departments in the Dade County Public Schools system, including my alma mater, South Miami Senior High School.

I was one of Ms. Owen’s many students in Cobra Country, singing under her direction from January 5, 1981 until March 16, 1983 — the day she announced her retirement from the public school system and her acceptance of a new position elsewhere. During my time in the Men’s Ensemble and Mixed Chorus I and II, Ms. Owen became not only one of my three favorite instructors at South Miami Senior High, but one of my favorite teachers of all time.

She taught us a remarkable range of music: Broadway showstoppers, standards from the Great American Songbook, Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs, spirituals, and even the occasional pop tune. Some of these we performed on stage during our winter and spring concerts — two “concert seasons” each school year. Others we rehearsed for weeks, only for Ms. Owen to change the setlist and steer us toward something new. That was part of her magic: she always knew when a piece had given us all it could, and when it was time to stretch in a different direction.

Last Sunday, I posted a selection of songs Ms. Owen taught us, but it was far from complete. So today, for your listening pleasure, I’m sharing a few more memorable melodies — pieces that still echo in my mind after all these years, reminders of a teacher who made music feel both obvious and wonderful.