Old Town Center for the Arts ~ Cottonwood, AZ

The Old Town Center for the Arts ~ Cottonwood, AZ

13th Annual
Winter Solstice Concert

Sunday, December 21, 2025, 7:00 PM

$28 Door

$25 Advance General Seating

$30 Priority Seating in first 3 rows

World’s Favorite Christmas Melodies

The 13th Annual Old Town Center for the Arts Winter Solstice Concert will feature some of the world’s favorite Christmas melodies, uplifting songs of the spirit, original songs, a special musical tribute ritual to our ancestors who marked the shortest day.

This year’s Solstice Ensemble features flutist Claudia Tulip, cellist Melanie Yarger, harp guitarist William Eaton, percussionist Logan Turner, and vocalist Marie Turner.

William Eaton is a four-time GRAMMY® nominated harp guitarist and luthier, Co-Founder and current Director of Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery (now celebrating their 50th year in 2025) and Co-Founder/Co-Director of Old Town Center for the Arts. In November, William played to a sold-out audience at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, with 10 other guitarists, featuring 30 (of 50+) guitars built by Roberto-Venn graduates and companies who employ graduates, all built from the school’s historic Nicaraguan rosewood and mahogany.

A special added holiday feature of the evening will be aerial and belly dance performances by artists from Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts: Marie Turner, Anna Kondaurov, and Emerald Forest.

Director Marie Turner’s dance company Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts recently premiered its aerial production of Luminescent at OTCA in November. OTCA Co-Director Elena Bullard commented, “Attendees will get to witness the wonderful visuals and ‘movement arts’ performed high above the audience on silks, corde lisse (rope), and lyra.”

The Winter Solstice Concert promises to be an evening of diverse musical styles, holiday classics, and elevated movement arts.

“We’re excited to bring a world chamber sound to our Verde Valley - Sedona audience,” OTCA Co-Director William Eaton remarked. “All of the ensemble members are talented soloists in their own right.”

This year’s solstice concert will feature arrangements of classic Christmas songs, including: Joy to the World, What Child Is This, We Three Kings, Coventry Carol, and Silent Night. The ensemble will present several eclectic instrumental arrangements as accompaniment to Hydrangea Sky’s aerial and movement arts. The ensemble will also perform several original compositions by William Eaton.

About the Musicians:

Claudia Tulip performs on silver and ethnic flutes, and panpipes, with a beautiful blend of imagination, deft technique and soulful expression.

Cellist Melanie Yarger is classically trained, and has held Principal positions with the New York Symphony, the Celebrity Symphony Orchestra, the Koscuiszko Opera Orchestra, and many others. She currently plays along with Carrie Caruso in the eclectic and innovative quartet, Urban Electra.

William Eaton is a four-time GRAMMY Nominee and Canyon Records recording artist, he is also acknowledged as one of the world’s great designers and builders of unique guitars and stringed instruments. He has composed for the William Eaton Ensemble, Nebraska Chamber Orchestra, Amadeus Trio, and many others. He is currently the Director of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, a guitar making school he co-founded in Phoenix, Arizona.

Logan Turner is a classically trained percussionist from the Crane School of Music. He has performed with the Empire Statesmen Drum & Bugle Crops from Rochester, NY as well as the Official Drum line for the Buffalo Bills. Logan specializes in world percussion, guitar, and bass guitar.

Marie Turner, Co-Director at OTCA and Founder/Director of Hydrangea Sky Movement Arts, is an aerialist, dancer, musician/singer-songwriter, and visual artist. Marie has performed her original music and dance across the Southwest and in France, specializing in guitar, vocals, aerial silks, corde lisse, lyra, trapeze, and invented aerial apparatus.

The Winter Solstice is a time of reflection, contemplation and story telling. Music has always been an important part of the solstice tradition amongst all the world’s cultures and religions.

Come enjoy a special evening of holiday music, engaging aerial dance performances, a pre-show vintage Christmas postcard slide show, and lovely holiday lighting by Lighting Director James Ball, in the warm vintage elegance of Old Town Center for the Arts on Sunday, December 21, at 7:00 pm.

Doors will open at 6:15 pm. Refreshments including: wine, beer, snacks, and popcorn will be available for purchase.

Ticket Information

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