Meet Molly Sharp, creator of VLATUTTI
A native of Fayetteville, AR, Molly Sharp received a Bachelor’s Degree from Vanderbilt University/Blair School of Music, studying with Kathryn Plummer. She received her Master’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Heidi Castleman and apprenticed with the Cavanni Quartet. In addition to playing with the Richmond Symphony, Molly has also been a member of the Nashville Symphony and the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra. Molly has played chamber music with many different groups and festivals, including the Chamber Music Festival of Central Virginia, Richmond Chamber Players, ACE (Atlantic Chamber Ensemble), the Fulbright Summer Chamber Music Series (Fayetteville, AR), the Cascade Music Festival (Bend, OR), and the Santa Fe Symphony Summer Series.
As the principal violist with the Richmond Symphony, Molly has been a featured soloist with the Richmond Symphony in works such as Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Vaughn-Williams’ Flos Campi, Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade, Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata, and Strauss’ Don Quixote.
Other solo performances include Berlioz’s Harold in Italy and Bloch’s Suite for Viola and Orchestra with the Richmond Philharmonic.
A dedicated and experienced teacher, Molly was on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she taught Viola Performance majors, gave sectionals for the VCU University Orchestra, and taught a weekly studio class. She has given Masterclasses at University of Virginia, Violapalooza at VCU, and Texas Tech, as well as many public schools in the Central Virginia area. Molly started a chamber music program through the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra program to provide a chamber music experience and coachings to serious high school students. As a Faculty member at the String Odyssey, a camp administered by the Richmond Symphony and Virginia Commonwealth University, Molly regularly provides sectionals, private lessons, masterclasses, and chamber music coachings to all levels of students.
As a way to bring the love of chamber music to the layman, Molly has created and led experiential workshops for adults, to give those who don’t play an instrument the experience of playing chamber music.
Recent highlights include joining the faculty and coaching chamber music at the Gettysburg Chamber Music Workshop, and presenting at the American and International Viola Society Festival on the topic of A Trauma-Informed Approach to Pedagogy and Performance Anxiety. Molly was the Artist in Residence for the American Viola Society in January and February of 2024, and will present again at the AVS Festival in June 2026. Molly has performed at the AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria, for the last two summers.