When the guest musicians entered the music room at Weehawken High School last Thursday, the 90 or so students were expecting to hear classical music. After all, one musician carried in a bass and the other two had violins. It was natural to expect Bach, Brahms and Chopin.
But the Philadelphia-based group called “Time for Three,” brought to Weehawken as part of the Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center’s commitment to inviting quality musicians to the schools, were about to perform music that these students never heard before.
Never mind that some of them had never even heard a live violin played before. The group’s style of music, which cannot be categorized in a simple classification, totally mesmerized the students.
“It was extremely impressive,” said junior Nick Fiorese. “I never saw anything like it before. We don’t get a lot of chances to experience things like this around here.”
“I definitely was expecting something classical,” said fellow junior Shawn Pierre. “I was very interested because I never heard a violin in person before.”
The three musicians, violinists Zachary DePue and Nicolas Kendall and double bassist Ranaan Meyer, came together while enrolled at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Before meeting Meyer, both DePue and Kendall had discovered a mutual love of “fiddling” in the country-western and bluegrass styles. They also shared an understanding of the musical language of the Hungarian and Spanish gypsies.
When Meyer joined them, he brought a deep understanding of jazz and improvisation, ingredients that greatly expanded the musical tastes of the other two.
Although the three members pursue individual careers, “Time for Three” has become an outlet for these young artists to meet in a non-traditional blending of their talents.
“I think that’s what we’re striving for,” Meyer said. “We’re trying to break down the barriers. A lot of music is categorized. Our music can’t be categorized. We don’t focus on one style. We want to offer all these different styles in everything we do. That’s what we’re all about.”
Meyer said that he spent too much of his life wondering whether he was supposed to be a trained classical musician.
“There was a period of my life where I wondered what I was getting out of this,” Meyer said. “I wanted to know what made people smile. After meeting so many people, I came to a conclusion that it music is supposed to be beyond words. Music is supposed to indulge upon your emotions.”
So Meyer, DePue and Kendall embarked on the new group two years ago and have received some fine acclaim ever since. They performed at Paul Newman’s camp for needy children, called The Hole in the Wall Fandango, where they were introduced to Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, Joanne Woodward, and of course, Newman, who became an influence to the group.
They have also performed at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts and performed at the 2002 Liberty Awards Ceremony honoring Colin Powell.
Upon winning its 2003 National Auditions, Time for Three became affiliated with Astral Artistic Services, a non-profit organization that helps outstanding young musicians develop their careers, as well as “Strings for Schools” in Philadelphia, where they perform for students and teach students about their music.
However, they never leave their classical backgrounds, because DePue and Meyer are still members of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra as well.
So when they were asked by the HRPAC Executive Director Bruce Sherman to perform in Weehawken and instruct the students, it was right down their alley.
“We do about seven or eight outreach concerts per month for students,” Meyer explained. “We all feel so strongly about it. When we got to meet Paul Newman and saw what he was able to do for the human spirit, we wanted to do whatever we could. You really get a great reaction from high school kids.”
Two performances
Sherman believed that this group was perfect to first introduce to the students at Weehawken High School, then perform as part of the UBS Atrium Concert Series in the UBS PaineWebber complex later that day.
“Time for Three was a particularly important group for the students to experience,” Sherman said. “Because not only were they hearing musicians who demonstrated an astounding level of expertise and skill, but they were seeing young musicians, only in their early to mid-twenties, not too much older than the kids themselves.”
Added Sherman, “Zack, Ranaan, and Nick were able to relate and connect with the students. And they demonstrated two very important points. First, that extremely hard work could pay off and provide a career that is rewarding, both financially and emotionally, and that this can and will apply to any career that the kids go for, whether it be in music, the arts, or any other field. The kids listened and took in this message and I got the impression that it made a big impact on them.”
Weehawken High School music director Steve Spinosa knew that the kids were going to be floored by the group, simply because they offered something different.
“The more unique it is, the more the kids enjoy it,” Spinosa said. “We knew that all three were classically trained and that all could play Bach and Brahms. But when you throw in all the different influences, like hip-hop, R&B, bluegrass and jazz. It was amazing to see them be able to incorporate all those styles and it was interesting to the kids. They weren’t getting straight classical. Because it was so unique, it gave them more interest than anything else.”
Spinosa said that the students were also impressed because the musicians were relatively close to their age. Meyer is 25, while Kendall and DePue are each 24.
“They were able to talk to the kids on the same level,” Spinosa said. “They said when they were their age, they didn’t want to practice either. But they found they had talent and worked at it.”
“We’re not that far removed from them,” Meyer said. “It was amazing to watch their attention. I think it takes just a couple tunes to win them over. These kids were really into it. Driving home afterwards, I said to the other guys that this was the best outreach experience we’ve ever had. It was awesome.”
Neither the kids nor the musicians wanted to leave. The day ended with a bit of fun.
When Pierre warms up his Casio electric keyboard, it automatically plays the famed bluegrass classic, “Turkey in the Straw.”
“I asked them if they knew it,” Pierre said.
Sure enough, Time for Three broke into it and Pierre went into his typical hoedown dance.
“It was really great,” Pierre said. “If we ever decide to choose a musical career, we have a good background. It was a lot more fun than what I expected.”