Holiday rock ensemble the Wizards Of Winter - featuring former members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rainbow and the bands of Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent - are set to kick off their annual US holiday tour next Thursday, November 16th in Clearwater, FL.

Each night, the ensemble will evoke the spirit of Christmas, weaving a story entirely based on their latest album, The Magic Of Winter, and new music. Each Wizards Of Winter performance showcases soaring vocal harmonies, precision string instrumentation, outstanding guitar leads, powerful percussion and stunning keyboard work - taking the listener on a musical "sleigh ride", covering many genres from pop to progressive rock.

In celebration of next week's kick off, the Wizards Of Winter have released a brand new, magical holiday track, "A Christmas Dream" - an enchanting medley featuring segments of the classic holiday tunes "My Favorite Things" and "Carol Of The Bells". Listen to the new single below, and also check out the Wizards Of Winter discussing their favorite things plus a behind the scenes studio performance.

The Wizards Of Winter musical director and keyboardist Scott Kelly says about the track: "The arrangement for "A Christmas Dream" has been something that I've played during Christmas time for about 20 years; my kids grew up hearing me play it on the piano. It is wonderful to have been able to get together with the band and create a full dynamic orchestration that really brings the song to life. Everyone worked to make it just perfect. We hope it becomes a new holiday anthem."

As with their most recent album, The Magic of Winter, "A Christmas Dream" is produced by Eric Rachel (in tandem with Wizards Of Winter's music director/keyboardist Scott Kelly)at Traxeast (Symphony X, Skid Row, Styx). The track can be purchased here.

Wizards Of Winter tour dates:

November
16 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre
17 - Melbourne, FL - King Center for the Performing Arts
24 - Vineland, NJ - Landis Theater
25 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre

December
2 - Fairmont, MN - Fairmont Opera House
3 - Mitchell, SD - Corn Palace Theatre
8 - Bremerton, WA - Admiral Theatre
9 - Longview, WA - Columbia Theatre
10 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
14 - Warrendale, PA - Jergels
15 - Derry, NH - Tupelo Hall
16 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen PAC
17 - Easton, PA - Easton State Theatre
21 - Traverse City, MI - City Opera House
22 - Adrian, MI - Crosswell Opera House
23 - Canton, OH - Canton Place Theatre