About Mrs. V

Liza Villarreal, or as her students call her, Mrs. V, is the Director of High School Orchestras at Edison Preparatory School. She also teaches Class Piano. Liza grew up in Tulsa and graduated from Union High School, taking private violin lessons with Derry Deane at the University of Tulsa. As a high school student, she participated in the Tulsa Youth Symphony, All State Orchestra, and Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain in the mid-90s. In 2001, Liza graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tulsa, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Music Theory. In 2005, Liza earned her Master of Music degree and teaching certification from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with Dr. Eugene Gratovich and Dr. Laurie Scott. This is also where she met her husband, Jesus, and in 2005, they moved to Chicago, IL so that he could work on his graduate degree in music and perform in the Civic Orchestra (he plays the double bass). From 2005-2008, Mrs. V taught orchestra to grades 5-8 in a school district just outside of Chicago. They moved back to Tulsa when their son was born, and Mrs. V began teaching with Tulsa Public Schools. From 2011-2017, she taught orchestra to grades 7-12 at Central Jr & Sr High School. She also served as Chair of the Fine and Performing Arts Department and was twice named Central High School’s Teacher of the Year in 2015 and 2017. In addition to her passion for education, Mrs. V maintains an active performance career and is proud to be a violinist with the Tulsa Symphony and Tulsa Opera Orchestras. She is also a co-founder and principal violinist with the Tulsa Camerata. When not playing or teaching the violin, Mrs. V spends all of her time with her husband and their two, adorable children.