May 10, 2008
8pm

Time for Three String Trio
    Zachary De Pue, violin
    Nicholas Kendall, violin
    Ranaan Meyer, double bass
Joel Levine, conductor

Beckel:  Toccata for Orchestra (Oklahoma City Philharmonic co-commission)
Harris:  When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Tf3:  Wyoming 307
Tf3:  Forget About It!
Meyer/Hedges:  Foxdown/Shenandoah
Copland:  Suite from "Billy the Kid"
Meyer/Hedges:  The American Suite

Breaking Boundaries 
Time for Three --  "three benevolent monsters, monsters of ability and technique surely ... but also conveyors of an infectious joy that I find both touching and moving," says Simon Rattle, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.

The story of their "overnight sensation" is as dramatic as it is inspiring. The three musicians were studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and playing with various orchestras both large and small. They fell in with each other because of  a mutual interest in improvisation and began playing small trio jobs at private parties. At a concert with the Philadelphia orchestra at the semi-outdoor Mann Center for the Performing arts a power failure caused a delay in the start of the concert. The two violinists were drafted to keep the crowd occupied and they thrilled the audience. Even without the essential bassline, the performance launched their spectacular rise in popularity.

Having won a major recording contract and collaborating with musicians including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Time for Three has a growing fan base and continues to create a dynamic "crossover" appeal with their original compositions.

Bassist Ranaan Meyer has emerged as the composer of the group and creates what Philadelphia music critic David Patrick Stearns calls "songs beyond words." With the moniker "Tf3", Meyer has shaped well-known pieces into something more than arrangements -- with the pieces 70 percent composed and 30 percent left to the improvisational skills of the trio.