Guitarist Dr. Robert Trent will kick off the 2008-2009 concert season after an eventful summer. The Radford University Professor of Music will be joined by a variety of musicians Sept. 8 for an exciting evening of chamber music. Collaborators include RU faculty David Allen (clarinet), Carla Copeland-Burns (flute), Jenice Riebe (soprano), and Benjamin Wyatt (cello).

Trent brings all-star quality to the New River Valley, being noted as a prominent guitarist of his generation (and the first guitarist to receive a doctorate from the prestigious Peabody Conservatory). His recent activity likely reinforces the abilities of this musician. This summer, he was the headline soloist at the International Festival di Coros in Sardegna, Italy.

Touring as soloist with the Festival Orchestra of Sardegna, “… is a wonderful and rare experience,” Trent said. Normally one tours alone to various cities, working with a different orchestra and conductor in each location, and thus, adapting to changes of interpretation in each case. “What makes this situation so musically satisfying,” Trent said, “is that through the experience of traveling together, working together, and eating together, orchestra, conductor, and soloist develop a deeper and tighter musical expression in each appearance.”

Upon returning to the United States, the guitarist appeared as soloist, performer, and lecturer at the Bethlehem Music Festival in Pennsylvania, as well as at the North Carolina School for the Arts (Winston-Salem, N.C.) for the Summer Arts Conservatory at that institution. Rounding out the busy summer included the finishing touches on his solo CD.

Available at the upcoming Radford concert will be his recording with former Radford University flutist Leslie Marrs. (The project was planned just before Marrs moved to Iowa for a teaching appointment at Drake University). One can hear samples of the CD, entitled “Music of Robert Fruehwald for Flute and Guitar,” here.

Trent’s Radford performance promises other excellent music from a variety of American composers. One such composer is Dominick Argento (b. 1927), considered to be our country’s leading composer of lyric opera. He boasts the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for his song cycle “From the Diary of Virginia Woolf.” Also performed will be the music of John Corigliano, a 70-year-old Juilliard faculty member of immense prominence. Recent fame came from his work “The Red Violin.” Other composers for the evening include Linn, Gnattali, Kreutzer, and the most familiar, Franz Schubert (1797-1828).

With Trent and his colleagues Allen, Copeland-Burns, Riebe, and Wyatt, the beginning of a promising series of local concerts begins. To take part in the season, showcasing the variety of area talent, don’t miss the Sept. 8 performance. It all begins at 8 p.m. in the cozy setting of the Norwood Room/Bondurant Center for the Arts (1115 Main St., Radford). Further questions can be directed to 540.831-5177. Admission is free.

C.R. Kasprzyk is a composer, teacher, photographer, saxophonist, well let’s just face it, he’s a Renaissance man. He will be performing at Bluefield College on Sept. 9.