Wayne Gallops

Robert Trent

RADFORD -- Next time you're browsing for new music, look for some local names.

Robert Trent, guitarist and Radford University professor of guitar and lute, and Wayne Gallops, pianist and director of bands and Radford assistant professor of music education, both released CDs in August.

Trent, during a Kansas City concert this summer, debuted his third release, "Robert Fruehwald: Music for Flutes and Guitar," on which he plays new compositions by the American composer.

Gallops' CD, "Jazzicale," is his first solo release, which he describes as a fusion of jazz and classical piano. He has previously recorded with the Tallahassee Symphony, Florida West Coast Symphony and others.

"It's nice to have one that's my own," Gallops said of the release.

Both professors say the a main reason they record is to get their music to people who may not be able to attend their concerts in Radford or farther -- both have toured nationally and internationally.

"Recordings are the only sort of permanent remembrance of what happened in a performance," Trent said. "People can hear what you do in places you can't go. That's the best thing."

Gallops has already received a call from Portugal about performing at a jazz festival and doing a radio interview.

"When you record a CD, you want it to be heard around the world," Gallops said. "I think the goal with this first CD is to get airtime and see if it gets somewhere."

This isn't the first time Radford professors have released CDs, but it is unusual for two to release in the same month, said Joe Scartelli, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, which encompasses the music department where Trent and Gallops work.

"They are both very high-quality recordings, and most of all I think it demonstrates what quality artists they are," Scartelli said. "In music, as in all of the arts, you can't just talk about it, you have to do it."

Scartelli said when a professor is recording and performing, it helps the students learn from their example.

"I think it shows how lucky we've been to attract and recruit this level of faculty and performer at Radford," Scartelli said.