Originally from England, Liz Watts never actually chose to play the violin. A pianist from the age of four, she wanted to play the flute (which she tried for a few years … it was a disaster!). As a teenager, she won a full scholarship to study piano and violin at the Royal College of Music, Junior Department in London for seven years. Liz completed her bachelor of music degree with honors from the University of Manchester, and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education from Leeds University (two subjects: music & outdoor education). Liz taught violin and viola full-time for the Cleveland Music Service and the North Yorkshire Music Service before moving to California with her husband in 1997.
As a young adult, Liz’s love of playing 2nd violin began when she was appointed as principal 2nd violin with the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra (U.K.). Since then she has briefly served as principal 2nd violin with the Cal Lutheran University Symphony (Thousand Oaks) and is currently the assistant principal 2nd violin with the Moorpark Symphony Orchestra and principal 2nd violin with CHICO. As a community-minded professional violinist, Liz has performed with many groups in and around Ventura County. Some of the recent highlights have included performances with the pit orchestra for Nordhoff High School’s annual musical (Ojai), Footworks Ballet Orchestra (Oxnard), The Master’s College Orchestra (Santa Clarita), Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, and Lompoc Pops Orchestra. In addition to her duties as CHICO’s principal 2nd violin, Liz currently serves as CHICO’s Librarian.
In recent years, Liz developed an interest in music performance anxiety. In the fall of 2015, she was admitted to the Graduate School of Psychology at Cal Lutheran University to begin working part-time on a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Also related to her academic success, Liz works in the Math Center at Moorpark College tutoring elementary statistics and algebra.
In her spare time (!!), Liz enjoys spending time with her husband and their beloved German shepherd dog at their home in Moorpark.