At last night’s opening concert of The Princeton Festival, Time for Three affirmed its strong musical bond. The musicians have been playing together since their student days at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 2023, they became Grammy Award winners.
Left to their own devices, the trio presents an eclectic and electric blend of classical, Americana, and modern pop. This was their second appearance at the Princeton Festival, and the crowd was clearly energized.
In March, the group will return to perform with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, as soloists at Richardson Auditorium in Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts’ triple concerto, “Contact.” Time for Three was recently honored with a Grammy for the Deutsche Grammophon release, “Letters for the Future,” which includes a recording of the work and that of another concerto by Philadelphia composer (and Pulitzer winner) Jennifer Higdon.
The Princeton Festival, which runs through June 25, will continue tonight at 7:00 with Drama Desk Award nominee Capathia Jenkins and a tribute to the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin. The concert will feature three-time Grammy-nominated artist Ryan Shaw, with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra led by its former assistant conductor, John Devlin (now music director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra of Wheeling, WV). The program will include such Franklin favorites as “Respect,” “Think,” “A Natural Woman,” and “Chain of Fools.”
Then tomorrow afternoon, something completely different, as internationally-acclaimed pianist Christopher Taylor will perform a recital of contrasting works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Kapustin, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Sergei Prokofiev. That concert will take place at 4:00.
Further festival events will encompass opera (Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”), chamber music, musical theater, contemporary dance, a klezmer “good vibes explosion,” and a special family concert, all presented on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden at 55 Stockton Street (Route 206).
Vibrant Baroque music and an intimate program for guitar and cello will be offered across the way at Trinity Church Princeton, at 33 Mercer Street.
The festival’s “big top,” an 11,000 square-foot, clear-span (no poles or obstructed views), open-sided performance pavilion, allows for easy access to refreshments, ample picnicking opportunities, a garden stroll, or the simple enjoyment of a late-spring/early-summer evening.
The Princeton Festival is the premier summer arts program of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. For complete listings and ticket information, visit princetonsymphony.org/festival.
And if you haven’t had a chance to take a look at it yet, here’s my preview in the Princeton weekly U.S. 1 Newspaper – PrincetonInfo.
Photo by Carolo Pascale
