BY JO MURRAY
The category-shattering trio, Time for Three, will give a free concert on Wednesday, March 1, as part of their three-year residency with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony.
The concert will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, 100 Saddle Road, Ketchum. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Time for Three transcends traditional classification with elements of classical, country, western, gypsy and jazz idioms that form a blend all its own. Violinists Nicolas (Nick) Kendall and Charles Yang and double-bass player Ranaan Meyer share a passion for improvisation, composing, arranging and education.
The partnership with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, called Project Tf3, brings the group to the Wood River Valley to perform, compose and work with the symphony’s School of Music, as well as other local schools.
The title of the March 1 concert reflects this mission: “Sun Valley Summer Symphony Presents Time for Three’s Winter Residency: Education, Composition and Artistry.”
Students from the Wood River High School Chamber Orchestra will play alongside the trio in the concert in a work titled “Joy.” It’s part of a work commissioned by the Sun Valley Summer Symphony from Time for Three. The work will be performed in its entirety on Aug. 3 as part of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s free orchestra festival.
In addition, Wood River High School Chamber Orchestra and choral department students will join Time for Three with selections from previously commissioned works from the trio: “Sun Valley Reel” from the composition “Elevation Paradise,” which premiered in Sun Valley in 2015, and “Paradise of Free Souls” from “Free Souls,” which premiered in 2016.
“The magic of what happens when Time for Three visits the valley includes far more than the excitement on the stage,” said Jenny Krueger, symphony executive director. “In their three-year residency, trio members have spent many hours in classes and coaching sessions with local students.”
The group is looking forward to returning to Sun Valley—a place they consider their second home—after months of traveling and playing throughout Europe and North America, said Kendall.
"Whenever we visit Sun Valley, something new and extraordinary happens,” Meyer said. “We always have the pleasure of meeting with the exceptional students of the area who love to make music and create, and we look forward to this collaboration. We also enjoy all of the amazing supporters who have the means to change the world while staying extraordinarily down to earth. Then there’s the enthusiasm we have for the snow and the beauty the region has to offer."
The Time for Three members are mentors to the four Wood River High School students in the Harriman Quartet: Arika Gourley, Jorgen Lawrence, Thalia Rojas and Lance Verst.
“Time for Three’s impact on the schools and on the Harriman Quartet in particular has been powerful,” said Rebecca Martin, Wood River Middle and High School orchestra director. “We can see measurable improvement in the level of individual playing. The Harriman Quartet members have learned to conduct their own rehearsals in a professional and productive way.”
Time for Three, which recently made its Carnegie Hall debut, has performed around the world, including appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Night of the Proms 2016 European tour. The trio also has appeared on PBS and on ABC’s “Dancing with Stars.”