Time for Three

The classically trained string trio Time for Three cannot easily be pigeonholed into a single genre. Its music extends into jazz, bluegrass, hip-hop, Americana, and more. The group cultivates an informal atmosphere in its concerts, and the members call themselves a classically trained garage band.
Time for Three took shape as its original three members, violinists Nick Kendall and Zachary DePue and double bassist Ranaan Meyer, were students at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. They found that they had a mutual interest in bluegrass fiddling, and on one occasion, while Meyer and DePue were performing in the Philadelphia Orchestra, a concert was interrupted by a power failure. The trio leapt into action, playing an impromptu jam session in the darkened theater. This was well-received, and as the group experimented further, it formally took on the Time for Three identity in 2003. Two years later, Time for Three released its eponymously titled first album on its own label, following that up with the album We Just Burned This for You! in 2006. In 2009, Time for Three began a ten-year residency with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, the group signed to the e1 Music label and released the album 3 Fervent Travelers; it remained in the top ten of Billboard magazine’s crossover chart for ten months.
On the live performance front, Time for Three gained a reputation for being able to perform almost anywhere. The group has appeared at the Indianapolis 500 auto race, Indianapolis Colts professional football games, the California jazz club Yoshi’s, and the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier museum ship in New York, among other venues. Time for Three has often been featured on the U.S. National Public Radio network. In 2015, DePue departed for a full-time Indianapolis Symphony job and was replaced by Juilliard School graduate Charles Yang. In addition to violin parts, Yang has added a vocal dimension to the group. The trio has commissioned new works from major contemporary composers, including Jennifer Higdon (Concerto 4-3, which has been performed by various groups), Chris Brubeck (Travels in Time for Three), and William Bolcom (an installment in his Games and Challenges series). Signed to the Deutsche Grammophon label, Time for Three released the album Letters for the Future, featuring a concerto by Kevin Puts as well as Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under conductor Xian Zhang, in 2022. ~ James Manheim