Mysterious, illusive, compelling, unpredictable and spellbinding are the words to describe the music of David Arkenstone.

A five-time Grammy nominee, Arkenstone weaves together a musical narration of a time, a place, or a situation, as he invites the listener to take an emotional symphonic journey exploring the back roads of their imagination.

Arkenstone is a storyteller of music.

“Imagine if you’re on a country road like in Vermont, and you’re going down [a hill] but then you see a road to the right,” Arkenstone explained. “And it’s like, ‘wow, I wonder what’s over there?’ And you just go there — it’s the same with the music.

David Arkenstone in Concert

David Arkenstone will perform at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in “An Evening with David Arkenstone and Friends,” debuting some of his recent neo-classical and crossover music with a string quartet and percussion.

“After two minutes or three minutes of the main theme …. I need to take it somewhere that either elevates it or is a complement to the piece. It’s a habit, I guess. But most of the music I’m doing on my albums feels more like a journey — especially if I make a left turn.”

With timing and grace, Arkenstone’s musical renditions make a left turn,

surprising the audience with unexpected interludes before taking them back to the beginning — much like the narrative archetype of the hero’s journey — where a hero goes on an adventure, learns a lesson, wins a victory with newfound knowledge and then returns home transformed.

Arkenstone related his musical compositions to that of an artist such as a photographer or a painter.

“Photography is a lot like music. You’re looking for composition; you’re looking for contrast … it’s the same thing in music or painting,” Arkenstone said. “I feel like I’m a painter — because I’m always trying to figure out how the colors go together, you know, musical colors. It’s so similar, I feel.”

Arkenstone paints a musical rendition of American Indian influences, Celtic dance, medieval folklore, or recreating the realm of J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle-earth into his work. Whichever direction he goes, he composes music with an extreme passion and obsession stepping outside of euphonic boundaries.

In addition to the musical mural he paints, Arkenstone says that he loves to visit Sedona.

“It’s such a special place to play music,” Arkenstone said. “Twenty years ago I played at a festival in Oak Creek Canyon with several groups I was lucky enough to be one of them … it was incredible playing against the rocks. It was just ridiculous. I kept turning around pinching myself.”

Musical Career

Throughout his career, he has created over 81 studio albums, six collaboration albums, seven compilation albums, one live album and 17 soundtracks and video game scores. He has composed music for television, films, NBC sports, The Kentucky Derby, The British Open and Premier League Soccer, and his song “Papillon [On the Wings of the Butterfly]” is used as background music in Future World at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

Music has always been a part of Arkenstone’s life. He said that he was born with a piano in his home. At the age of 6, his mother taught him a few notes. Afterward, he and his brother took lessons.

“When I got to junior high and high school, I left part of my training behind, reading very complicated pieces,” he said. “I just started playing more by ear and making my own music. I didn’t totally forget how to read [music], I can still read a little bit, but I couldn’t play what I did when I was 10. But now I’m a composer so it’s kind of a different thing.”

During his teenage years, Arkenstone said that he discovered the literary works of Tolkien, devouring all the books he could find.

“I read the books for the first time at 17 or 18. I was working with a landscape company, so I remember I would just read them on my breaks, and I was in that world — and I just stayed there until the end of the book,” he said. “It was so transformational for me. I just identified with the world, the characters, the respect for the earth runs through it. It just spoke to me and has spoken to millions of people, of course, but it really spoke to me in a way that never stopped.”

Earlier this year, Arkenstone revisited Middle-earth with an updated version of “The Lord of the Rings”-inspired journey of 14 original compositions, which expresses his range of music from gentle orchestral to soothing soundscapes and epic cinematic anthems. This album comes almost 20 years after his first album was released, “Music Inspired by Middle-earth, Vol. 1.”

Arkenstone said that as he visually composed the music, selecting the instruments with his eyes closed — the guitar, keyboard, flute, pennywhistle — and experimented by putting sounds together like a form of Impressionism.

His goal, he says, “was to make music I thought reflected what I felt about Tolkien’s words and stories.”

As he describes it, Arkenstone enjoys taking his audience on musical sonic tapestries, evoking every emotion. The piano is his favorite instrument because of the range of sound; however, he says the guitar is another favorite.

“I love playing lead guitar. I was in many bands where I just could scream — there’s not much more in music than that,” he said. “It’s really fun. And you can’t get that out of the piano because none of the notes stay there. With the guitar, you can bend your notes, move them around, and slide up and down. And there are all kinds of fun things you can do. And with drums, that’s a whole other emotional release you can get with playing drums, and I’m talking about hand drums and world drums more than a drum set. I like doing it all because it’s a complete picture of what I enjoy.”

Accomplishments

At 70, Arkenstone has taken his music and moved it into its own category. He describes several great accomplishments, including the concert he did in Sedona and being nominated for a Grammy.

“That’s hard to say. I did a tour 20 years ago, where we were opening for Michael Crawford, who performed in the ‘Phantom of the Opera,’” he said. “I got to play at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a highlight because I always loved going to the Hollywood Bowl. And to be on that stage was unreal for me. So, that was a highlight. We played Radio City [Music Hall].

“I’ve done a concert in Sedona that was awesome in Oak Creek Canyon. And you know, there are so many things along the way. I remember when I got my first Grammy nomination, it was like, ‘What? Somebody heard this; somebody liked it?’ So, that was a moment, you know, and now I have five —it doesn’t get old.”

Arkenstone is inspired by nature. He says he never worries about not being able to come up with a new composition because he can just tap into the energy that nature provides.

“That’s another subject that’s easily inspirational because if I’m walking in a forest or like Iceland, I see the glacier; it’s so overwhelming,” he said. “And nature is so overwhelming. It’s a drag that people don’t realize how connected we are to the Earth. There is a little bit of ‘wokeness’ coming, which is great.”

“The thing about Mother Earth that some people don’t get is that it doesn’t need us to be what it is. It’s great if there are people that are stewards of certain parts of the land, but we’re just really on the periphery,” he said. “I feel like we’re an ant in that way. We should be a little bit respectful that we’re allowed to be here. [We should] be grateful for that because, you know, the Earth will just go on.”

Arkenstone says he enjoys traveling, looking at nature, and being a part of it. He hikes in Yosemite National Park every year and says, “it’s awe-inspiring.” He describes Sedona in the same way.

“It’s just an incredible spot with incredible energy,” he said. “And the colors in Sedona, I think, are unique. I’ve seen a lot of red rocks in Zion Canyon in Utah and other places, but Sedona has a special combination of colors of the rocks there.”

Arkenstone describes composing music of his experiences saying, “You sit down at the piano, and it’s like you put a couple of notes together and pretty soon, you feel like you might be illustrating something that you experienced, it just kind of flows, I have to say. And I’m lucky about that. I use those influences, especially traveling, to try to capture a feeling that’s an emotion, too. But just a feeling of a place.”

Arkenstone is excited about performing in front of an audience, he says that it has been way too long.

“You know the audience is watching, maybe not everything you do, but you just got to focus on the song, he said. “Then realize that you are putting out a communication, you’re releasing this music to them and they’re receiving it — and it’s not just the applause at the end of the song but during the song you can start to feel this subtle interaction, but still, there’s a really interesting thing that happens even if it’s silent. You know you’re sharing … because they’re there to receive your music.”

Tickets to David Arkenstone and Friends can be purchased by calling (928) 282-1177 or online at www. sedonafilmfestival.org.