Time for Three

The classically trained string trio Time for Three resists easy categorization within any single style. Its repertoire reaches across jazz, bluegrass, hip-hop, Americana, and additional idioms. During performances the ensemble fosters a relaxed concert environment, and the players refer to themselves as a classically trained garage band.

The ensemble originated while its founding members—violinists Nick Kendall and Zachary DePue together with double bassist Ranaan Meyer—were enrolled at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute. Discovering a shared enthusiasm for bluegrass fiddling, the three once substituted an unplanned acoustic set in a Philadelphia Orchestra concert after a sudden blackout halted the scheduled program. The spontaneous performance was enthusiastically received, prompting further experiments that led the musicians to adopt the Time for Three name in 2003. Two years afterward they issued their self-titled debut on an independent imprint, followed in 2006 by the album We Just Burned This for You! A decade-long residency with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra commenced in 2009. The following year the group moved to the e1 Music roster and delivered 3 Fervent Travelers, which held a top-ten position on Billboard’s crossover chart for ten months.

Live, Time for Three earned recognition for its willingness to appear in virtually any setting, among them the Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Colts football games, the Yoshi’s jazz club in California, and the aircraft-carrier museum USS Intrepid in New York. Frequent broadcasts on U.S. National Public Radio further broadened its audience. In 2015 DePue accepted a full-time post with the Indianapolis Symphony and was succeeded by Juilliard-trained violinist Charles Yang, whose contributions also introduced a vocal element to the trio’s sound. The ensemble has solicited new pieces from prominent composers such as Jennifer Higdon (Concerto 4-3, subsequently taken up by other ensembles), Chris Brubeck (Travels in Time for Three), and William Bolcom (an entry in his Games and Challenges series). Under contract to Deutsche Grammophon, Time for Three issued Letters for the Future in 2022; the recording presents a concerto by Kevin Puts alongside Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Xian Zhang.