Special Music School High School Class of 2017
Zoë Douthit is a Chicago-based cellist and early childhood music instructor. After graduating from Special Music School High School in 2017, she earned a degree in Music Pedagogy from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in Illinois. After college, Zoë became a cello instructor at the Chicago Center for Music Education (ChiME). Recognizing Zoë’s strong connection with younger students, ChiME soon invited her to lead early childhood classes. What began as a leap of faith—teaching general music for the first time—quickly became Zoë’s “dream job,” and today, she centers her teaching practice on children ages six months to five years.
Zoë is passionate about working with the youngest students. In her words: "I love teaching these little ones. This age is so precious because they are learning how to live their lives and learning so many like foundational things. At ChiME, one of our core practices is social-emotional learning, and we focus on not only musical skills but also life skills, because music extends beyond our classrooms. Yes, we're teaching the little ones how to shake a shaker, but they're also developing motor skills; they're also learning how to share—life skills that they will carry with them far beyond our music classes."
Zoë credits her Special Music School education with helping to shape her approach to teaching and her emphasis on balancing music, academics, and social-emotional well-being. She recalls, "The SMSHS teachers were phenomenal and so supportive, and it inspires me to be that teacher for my students here at ChiME. I sometimes tell my students, 'There are days where you will not have the mental capacity to practice, and that's okay; take space and time for yourself. But, at the same time, use your music as a tool to express whatever emotions or thoughts you’re experiencing in that moment.' I'm trying to take on the teaching practices that they taught me at SMS and apply them here."
Outside of teaching early childhood music and private cello lessons, Zoë remains an avid Baroque string player with her ensemble Twisted Pearl. One "core memory" of her time at Special Music School was when chamber music teacher Jude Ziliak brought a Baroque bow to rehearsal, which Zoë found "so new and intriguing." Jude's example ignited a new passion and helped inspire Zoë to co-found, with her college friends, "a little Baroque group with Baroque bows, gut strings, and all the historical performance practices.” More than five years later, that ensemble, Twisted Pearl, performs gigs across Montreal and Chicago.
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