Winter Magic in the Air Nov. 28 in Red Bank

The Wizards of Winter’s majestic, Christmas-themed hard rock and prog-rock albums and elaborate rock opera stage shows are literally rooted in the spirit of holiday giving. The Frenchtown-based ensemble was initially a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tribute project created by music director-keyboardist Scott Kelly to raise money in 2010 for his town’s food pantry.

The ensemble then evolved into making its own music and includes original TSO members. The Wizards of Winter this month released their second album, “The Magic of Winter,” whose many highlights include the triumphant “Flight of the Snow Angels” and the moving “I Am Here.”

The Wizards of Winter spread their Christmas rock opera cheer on Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, and on Friday, Dec. 4, at the Collingswood Scottish Rite Theatre in Collingswood.

We spoke with Scott Kelly.

How did The Wizards of Winter come about?

In 2009, at the height of the recession, our local church’s food pantry shelves were pretty bare. I spoke to my wife [Wizards of Winter flutist-singer Sharon Kelly] and my friend Steve Ratchen, who is the bassist in the band, to see if we could do something to raise some money for the pantry. In January of 2010 we began recruiting people to form the band with the intent to perform some TSO songs as a cover band to raise money for some local charities. We rehearsed that whole year and played five or six shows that first holiday season and were successful in raising money for the pantry. We also helped the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

We played in churches, high schools and a couple small clubs. We also donate to the Wounded Warrior Project and are big supporters of the Choroideremia Foundation For Fighting Blindness. Steve was approached by Mark Devoe, of Washington Township (Warren County), regarding his 10-year-old son Mark, who is losing his eyesight. We felt it was a worthy cause and we got onboard.

How did the one-time show evolve into an original band?

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People at the shows wanted to buy our album, and there was no album to buy (laughs). We decided to continue and started writing some original music and adding it into our show. We’ve played venues throughout the Northeast and the venue sizes have continued to grow over time. This year our tour has expanded to 21 cities and we’ve moved up from 1,500-seat theaters to some of them being 2,500 seaters. It’s really growing and it’s exciting.

The band also includes original members of TSO.

In 2013, I became friends with Tommy Ferris, the original voice and face of TSO. I played him some of our original music and he loved it and said he would like to come out and tour with us and bring along some of his friends. In 2013, we toured with four original members of TSO. Two of the guys, Guy LeMonnier (vocals) and Tony Gaynor (narrator), are permanent members.

Your stage show is a rock opera titled “Tales Beneath a Northern Star.” Can you tell us about the show?

The material from “The Magic of Winter” album fits into the performance. We get you onboard this mythical vehicle called the Arctic Flyer on Christmas Eve and we take a journey inside a snow globe to search for the true meaning of Christmas throughout space and time. It transcends pure religious connotations of Christmas and relates to the spirit of the holidays, of families and loved ones. The story is flexible, in that as we write new material we can take the story in different places. It will never get stale.

www.wizardsofwinter.com

www.countbasietheatre.org

http://www.collingswood.com/entertainment/theater-and-ballroom