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Time For Three, Okemos High School students perform at Wharton Center

January 30, 2025
Time For Three's Ranaan Meyer, Charles Yang and Nicolas Kendall.
Time For Three's Ranaan Meyer, Charles Yang and Nicolas Kendall.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, Michigan State University’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts welcomed Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three.

Time For Three consists of members Nicolas "Nick" Kendall on the violin and vocals, Charles Yang on the violin and vocals and Ranaan Meyer on the double bass and vocals. The ensemble combined different genres of music and instruments, along with a hint of comedy, to deliver a performance that left audience members with an experience to remember.

The show also featured student musicians from Okemos High School, directed by Justin Valla.

For attendees like Jennifer White, the performance wasn’t something that she was expecting.

"It was interesting, it was a little bit different than I was expecting," White said. "It was very cool how they combined a lot of different genres of music and made everything very contemporary and accessible and very enthusiastic. They were great."

Attendee Prathima Pabbathi also said she was surprised by the variety of different music in the performance.

"We thought it would be like a regular concert performance with the violin and the bass, but it was so many genres and so many varieties of music, so it was very fun to watch," Pabbathi said. "It kind of addressed all kinds of audiences."

Time For Three pulled in a large crowd, and guests all had different reasons for attending. For attendees like Patrice Klein, stepping out of her comfort zone was the motivator behind going to the show.

"I wanted to try something new," Klein said. "I come here a lot for Broadway shows and performers I'm familiar with, and I wanted to try something new, so I got tickets for this."

The families of the students from Okemos also arrived to show their support.

"I came because my daughter is performing, so that was our main motive of coming here," Pabbathi said. "But, getting to know this group is pretty good."

Attendees expressed their enjoyment after the show, appreciating the energy and spirit of the performers. It was clear to the audience that the musicians found a lot of joy in what they do.

"They were having fun, which made us have fun," Klein said.

White left the performance not only with a fun experience to remember, but also with a reminder of the importance of art and community.

"I think these are good ways to bring people together in the community and also listen to artists and hear something new and different," White said. "I think art is very important too, for everybody."

For more information on Time For Three, check out their website here.

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