Time for Three at the Bettendorf Performing Arts Center -- February 17.
Thursday, February 17, 7 p.m.
Bettendorf Performing Arts Center, 3333 18th Street, Bettendorf IA
Composed of the stirring string musicians and vocalists Ranaan Meyer on double bass and Nicholas Kendall and Charles Yang both on violin, the critically lauded trio Time for Three plays a special February 17 concert at the Bettendorf Performing Arts Center as guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artist Series, the performers' eclectic tastes and talents inspiring their self-professed moniker as “a classically trained garage band.”
With the group's musical interests ranging from classical to bluegrass to rock to jazz to hip-hop, and with their dress defiantly casual even while performing at Carnegie Hall, Time for Three's original members included Meyer, Kendall, and violinist Zachary DePue, the later the concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. These charter members met while students at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and initially, they discovered a mutual interest in bluegrass and country fiddling, with Meyer adding jazz and improvisation to the mix. Meyer and DePue were performing as members of the Philadelphia Orchestra when a thunderstorm knocked out the electricity. As electricians scurried to remedy the problem, they stepped up and played an acoustic jam session in the dark. The impromptu session's folk and country selections sparked interest in their eclectic work with Kendall, and led to the trio becoming a professional unit. In the summer of 2015, however, DePue decided to leave the trio and dedicate his full time to the orchestra. But the remaining performers immediately rebounded and announced that Juilliard graduate Yang, described by the Boston Globe as an artist who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star," would be joining them on violin.
Since becoming a formal performance ensemble in 2003, Time for Three has appeared alone and with symphonic and chamber orchestras all across the U.S.A. and in Europe. The musicians have also played such diverse sites as Indianapolis Colts games, the Indianapolis 500, and on the aircraft-carrier museum ship USS Intrepid in New York Harbor. Time for Three entered into a three-year term as the first artists-in-residence with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 2009 and continued that residency for a full decade, performing with and away from the orchestra and developing programs to widen the orchestra's appeal in the local community. The trio's talents are such frequently featured artists on NPR, meanwhile, that they have their own Time for Three Web page there, and the group self-produced two albums that sold more than 20,000 copies before signing with E1 Music and releasing 3 Fervent Travelers in 2010. That album debuted on the Billboard Crossover Chart's Top 10 and remained there for more than 10 months, and subsequent Time for Three credits include a self-titled album and the holiday-themed Yule Time, both released in 2014, and partnering with cellist/composer Ben Sollee for the soundtrack to the 2021 nature adventure Land directed by and starring Robin Wright.
Time for Three plays the Bettendorf Performing Arts Center on February 17, admission to their 7 p.m. concert is $5-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)793-1213 and visiting QuadCityArts.com.
