Far from a typical chamber music trio, Time for Three (aka Tf3) uses their classical training as a launch pad for music that crosses the stifling boundaries of tradition. Double bassist Ranaan Meyer and violinists Zach DePue and Nick Kendall first met as students at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. The three musicians began playing together on an informal basis and incorporating their tastes and influences into the jam sessions – DePue and Kendall shared a love of country and bluegrass fiddling styles, Meyer a background in jazz and improvisation. In July of ’03, Meyer and DePue were playing a concert with The Philadelphia Orchestra when an unexpected power outage prompted the duo to entertain the audience while technicians worked on restoring the lights. Their impromptu performance of traditional and modern bluegrass was such a hit that it inspired the trio to begin playing in earnest. Five years later, Tf3 has played more than 200 concerts, sitting in with orchestras across the nation and garning much praise along the way with their infectious energy and enthusiasm for what they do. Tf3 joins The Florida Orchestra for three concerts featuring the trio’s original compositions, Hungarian gypsy tunes, and fiddle favorites like “Shenandoah” and “The Orange Blossom Special.” TFO’s own fiddle sections are also showcased in performances of Leroy Anderson’s Fiddle Faddle, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnole and Henry Mancini’s Strings on Fire. 8 p.m. Fri., Nov. 28, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa, 8 p.m. Sat., Nov. 29, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, and 7:30 p.m. Sun., Nov. 30, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $19-$65, 727-892-3337.
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2008.