Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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Trans-Siberian Orchestra (often abbreviated as TSO) is a progressive rock/power metal orchestra founded by Paul O'Neill, Robert Kinkel, and Jon Oliva in 1996. It is best known for its remakes of classical Christmas songs.
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[edit] Biography
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra was founded in 1996 in New York City by composers Paul O'Neill and Robert Kinkel, and Savatage lead singer Jon Oliva. The group's name is inspired by the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia which Kinkel says connects many cultures otherwise isolated, much like music.
O'Neill had managed and produced rock bands including Aerosmith, Humble Pie, and Scorpions, later writing for and producing Savatage, where he began working with Kinkel and Oliva. The concept for a band playing Christmas carols in a rock opera style was not received warmly by the industry, but quickly proved a success with adults as well as young people.
In the recording studio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra uses a full 60-piece orchestra and a choir. As of 2004, their touring band included fourteen vocalists, fourteen musicians, and two narrators.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra released their debut album Christmas Eve and Other Stories in 1996, and it remains their best-selling album. Their 1998 release The Christmas Attic was similarly a concept album with a Christmas theme. In 2000, they released their first (and to date only) non-Christmas album, Beethoven's Last Night, a concept album about Ludwig van Beethoven's last night on earth, during which he meets Fate, her son Twist, and Mephistopheles.
After several years of touring, they returned to the studio and subsequently came out with another full-length album, Lost Christmas Eve, and the accompanying DVD/3-CD release The Christmas Trilogy, which contained all three of their Christmas albums to date.
The band is, as of early 2005, working on a new non-Christmas album, Night Castle. It is projected to be released sometime in 2007 and is expected to feature the band's rendition of "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, performed as a preview by the band during their 2004, 2005, and 2006 tours.
Their 2005 tour placed twenty-first on the list of the most successful concert tours of the year, earning just over US$21 million.[1]. The string section is comprised of local musicians. Live shows are known for their extensive use of pyrotechnics, lasers & lights, all in sync with the performance. Shows are divided into two halves: the first consisting of the story and songs of Christmas Eve and Other Stories, the second a mix of songs from The Christmas Attic, Beethoven's Last Night, The Lost Christmas Eve, and a couple of miscellaneous covers (including Layla), finishing with a reprise of Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.
[edit] Members
- Jon Bivona - Guitar
- Keith Bourbon - Guitar
- Steve Broderick - Vocals
- Chris Caffery - Guitar
- Jennifer Cella - Vocals
- Angus Clark - Guitar
- Tommy Farese - Vocals
- Tony Gaynor - Narrator
- Carmine Giglio - Keyboards
- Jill Gioia - Vocals
- Kristin Gorman - Vocals
- Bryan Hicks - Narrator
- Mee Eun Kim - Keyboards
- Bob Kinkel - Keyboards
- Danielle Landherr - Vocals
- Michael Lanning - Vocals
- Guy LeMonnier - Vocals
- James Lewis - Vocals
- Tany Ling - Vocals
- Stephanie Linn - Vocals
- Jane Mangini - Keyboards
- Johnny Lee Middleton - Bass
- Daryl Pediford - Vocals (deceased)
- Anna Phoebe - String Mistress
- Jay Pierce - Vocals
- Al Pitrelli - Guitar
- Jeff Plate - Drums
- John O. Reilly - Drums
- Bart Shatto - Vocals
- Peter Shaw - Vocals
- Alex Skolnick - Guitar
- Mark Wood - String Master/Electric Violinist
- David Z - Bass
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1996)
- The Christmas Attic (1998)
- Beethoven's Last Night (2000)
- The Lost Christmas Eve (2004)
- Night Castle (Summer 2007)
[edit] Videos
- The Ghosts of Christmas Eve (2001)
[edit] Box sets
- Christmas Trilogy (2004) – Contains all 3 previous Christmas CDs and one DVD
[edit] See also
- Savatage
- Mannheim Steamroller
- Carson Williams, the Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer who choreographed the song "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra to his outdoor Christmas lights.
- Jon Oliva's Pain
- Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24
- Twelve-Twenty_Four, a TSO Tribute Band in the Northeast United States
[edit] Further reading
- Van Pelt, Doug (March/April 2007). "Live Report: Trans-Siberian Orchestra". HM Magazine (124): 19. ISSN 1066-6923.
