“Snow is magical. It’s the silence. It’s the look of it. It’s the way it lands on the trees. It’s a gentle thing that puts me in this holiday mood,” musician and composer David Arkenstone said. “It’s something that I enjoy, but I hardly ever see it.”

Arkenstone and his group are performing a Winter’s Eve Concert throughout Colorado, Arizona and California and are scheduled to appear at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $25 for Sedona International Film Festival members, and can be purchased by calling (928) 282-1177 or online at sedonafilmfestival.org.

Arkenstone has lived in sunny California for many years, where the landscape within his view consists of palm trees instead of snow-crested pines. However, he does make family trips to Lake Tahoe during the winter months, where the picturesque panorama of snow captivates him. “I put my feet on the ottoman, wear big puffy socks, have a cup of tea and look out a picture window. If I get that opportunity, that’s fine for me. Or I like going out sledding and playing with the kids. That’s fun too,” he said. While reminiscing about his childhood memories and family holidays, Arkenstone recalled the sounds of music and the aromas of food that take him back to a very different time and place.

As a child, Arkenstone grew up in Chicago, famous for its cold winters and snowy conditions. He described a time when he and his brother played outside in the snow and attempted to make snow angels.

“In the middle of that night, my mom woke me up. She took me to the window, and the moon was beaming down, and there were our little snow angels … glistening in the moonlight,” Arkenstone said. “That always stayed with me because I felt a real connection with my mom. And maybe she knew that would be a cool memory for me.”
Arkenstone said that the memory of that moment inspired a song, “Angels in the Snow,” which appeared on a Windham Hill Celtic Christmas album. “It’s a very sweet song with a sweet memory for me.”

Casting his thoughts back to the past, Arkenstone shared this reflection: “I think childhood memories can be the strongest because you’re so new to the world. It’s like you’ve never seen that before. When you get older, you see something, but things are more familiar. Whereas, when you’re a kid, like five or six, things are like, wow, brand new,” he said.
“Like my granddaughter who just turned two last year. We were in Lake Tahoe, and she saw snow for the first time. When you can see that happening — it’s like, wow, I wish I could experience that for the first time again,” he said.

In 1987, Arkenstone had his own “first experience.” He signed on with Narada, a new-age music record label. They produced their first Christmas album, “Narada: The Christmas Collection,” in 1988, which featured 11 artists, including Arkenstone. His first featured Christmas song, “I Saw Three Ships,” was the last song on the album.
“My first Christmas song was ‘I Saw Three Ships’ because I just loved it. I felt that it lent itself to my style,” Arkenstone said. “I was a little upset because it was the last song on the record and I thought, ‘Oh, man, who is going to hear it?’ But back then, it was on CDs and LPs and people did hear it. And it was the last thing they heard, which turned out to be a good thing. The last song kind of sticks with you,” he said.

Arkenstone’s infatuation with snow runs deep. In fact, he has christened the musical renditions of his 2010 album, “Snowfall,” with such titles as “Whispers of Winter,” “Snowfield,” “The Stillness,” “Winter Dreams,” “White Sentinels” and “Midnight Snowfall” — an ode to the icy crystal. And there’s lots more.

Just as his music takes listeners on a journey through time and space, Arkenstone has been traveling on a journey of his own — making several stops in Colorado along the way, hoping to encounter a blanket of snow. He is on a 17-city tour, along with his flutist, percussionist, violinist and cellist, which began on Dec. 1 and will culminate on Dec. 23.

“We’re playing in some beautiful places in Colorado … and some of my favorite places, especially Sedona. I was in Sedona once when there was just a sprinkle of snow on the red rocks, and I said that I must live here,” Arkenstone noted. “I’m looking forward to coming back because it’s a magical place. And I’ve never played there during the winter.”

Arkenstone visited Sedona this past September and performed an intimate concert at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.

This time, he says, he is bringing winter with him. While the frozen white puffy flakes may or may not follow him from Colorado to Sedona, he is setting the stage with a wintery backdrop of trees, lanterns, candlelight and other festive décor that will have Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Additionally, the music he will offer will be a retrospective of 30 years of Christmas songs, mixing the old and the new, and featuring the debut of some of his recent neoclassical compositions with strings, flutes, and percussion, while he will also perform new arrangements of his favorite songs. Not only will his music take listeners on an adventurous journey, but Arkenstone also has high hopes he can give the audience a memorable experience.

“I feel that the connection with the audience is important when I perform, otherwise, why would I do it? Because I can sit here and make music and put out records all day, and then I never know who’s buying them,” Arkenstone stated. “People are listening to it. But you never have the one-on-one experience of being in a theatre with people — it’s not equal to buying anything else to me. That’s why I put so much into the tour because those two hours on stage make the whole thing worth it.”

As a five-time Grammy nominee, Arkenstone weaves together a musical odyssey, inviting the listener to take an emotional symphonic journey. He artfully paints melodies that draw on American Indian influences, Celtic dance, medieval folklore and the realm of J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Whichever direction he goes, he composes music with extreme passion and obsession, stepping outside euphonic boundaries.

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 “Papillion” [“Butterfly”] is used as background music in Future World at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

Arkenstone says that no two songs are alike. If there happens to be an inkling of familiarity in a new composition, he will abandon the song and do something else. His arrangements ebb and flow, evoking the emotional experience that he wants to share.

During his passionate performances, the effectiveness of this encounter with the audience is evident. Arkenstone is in his element. Whatever the season, winter, spring, summer or fall, Arkenstone is giving it his all.