Verity Sharp (born 1970) is a television and radio presenter from England.

Early life

Sharp grew up in Somerset. After studying at Dartington College of Arts, she read music at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

and studied composition. During these years, she did some acting, performed music, and studied languages, including French.

Presenting career

Sharp moved to London after graduating in 1992, and began working for Radio 3 in 1993, the year she had planned to start a post-graduate degree at the Guildhall School of Music. She trained as a producer, and from 1997 regularly produced and presented Pebble Mill's ''Music Machine'', a 15-minute music programme primarily intended for children. A year later, she was hosting the contemporary music show ''Hear And Now''. In 2001, the eclectic late-night music programme '' Late Junction'', which she presents in alternation with Fiona Talkington and Max Reinhardt, won her the Silver Sony Radio Academy Award for ''Music Broadcaster of the Year'' – a "very proud moment for the team after three years of very hard work". On 21 March 2013, at the end of that evening's edition of programme, she formally announced that she was to cease being one of its regular presenters in order to pursue "a few more musical dreams". She has since become a regular presenter again. Since autumn 2019 when it moved to a single weekly show, she has alternated presentation duties with

Jennifer Lucy Allan Jennifer Lucy Allan, known informally as Jen, is a British writer, researcher and radio presenter. Allan has written for ''The Guardian'' ''The Quietus'', and ''The Wire'', being online editor for the latter. She was a presenter on Resonance FM ...

. She is also one of the presenters of '' The Culture Show'' on BBC2, and also presents ''Slow Radio'' on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...

Music interest

It was from her student years that she acquired a taste for non-Western music. Although her training was in classical cello she later took up the

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

and turned to traditional music. In 2013, she narrated the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

documentary ''How to Be a World Music Star: Buena Vista, Bhundu Boys and Beyond''. Having interviewed them while presenting a ''Culture Show'' special in 2008, she admitted to retaining a fondness for the thrash metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

she had as a teenager.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Verity 1970 births Alumni of the University of York BBC Radio 3 presenters British radio presenters British women radio presenters British television presenters British women television presenters British fiddlers Living people