Role of the Performer

  Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Rockin' Christmas 

                                            This is a photo of all the performers in Trans-Siberian Orchestra! 

    Since it's November, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Christmas music because I love it so much. I always wait until at least November 1st so this assignment is perfectly timed. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a an American group that originated in Tampa, Florida in 1996 that mainly performs Christmas song renditions with a heavy metal twist. The group consists of many performers on guitar, violin, viola, and cello and bass. The founder, Paul O'Neill, wrote most of the music before he sadly passed away in 2017. He managed bands like Aerosmith, AC/DC, Joan Jett, and many other famous bands, which meant that Trans-Siberian Orchestra had a promising start, and from then on TSO went to sell over 10 million albums and even more concert tickets. The mix of rock and classical is something very unique and I think that's what draws people to this band. I personally am a fan of heavy rock music, but I also love classical music, especially because I play the violin.  

    The first song I want to look at by this group, and is also my personal favorite, is called A Mad Russian's Christmas which is a rendition of many different songs from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, like Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, and the most obvious one, Russian Dance. This mash up of Tchaikovsky songs was released in 1996 and was performed live. Below are links to listen to the songs. 

1) A Mad Russian's Christmas - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

    This song has such a fun beat to it and really follows along with Tchaikovsky's Russian Dance. The added electric guitar adds lots of depth that the original version doesn't have. The original song will always be a classic, but since TSO decided to make an interpretation of their own, it seemed to jazz the song up a bit and add a flare with the electric guitar. The original beats and melodies from Russian Dance are still the same, but the added guitar riffs and back up accompaniment make it overall more interesting to listen to and adds that special unique sound that this band has created. 

2) Carol of the Bells - Trans-Siberian Orchestra     

    Although the song Carol of the Bells was originally composed by Mykola Leontovych in 1916, TSO created a rendition that added so much suspense and intensity that really made it feel like a whole new song. The steady beat of the drums along with the electric guitar and piano create such an powerful new take on this song. The original song is very soft and airy, while this rendition is very heavy and electric guitar forward. In the beginning of this song, the main instruments that are showcased are cello and flute, and then the rock beats start after a few measures. Then this song really starts to showcase the electric guitar for the remainder of the song. I think the main reason TSO started making music was to showcase the beauty of combining two genres of music that people wouldn't normally group together, or would think sounded good. They do a great job finding ways to incorporate the heavy sounding electric guitar with the light and airy sound of string instruments. 

3) Research:

    An article by The Daily Beast talks about the popularity of TSO over the last 20+ years of the band's existence. They say "Since 1999, the band has played to over 15 million people, and many of them come back for more—in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that repeat customers comprise 50 percent of the audience." TSO definitely has a distinct sound that people love, and the fact that they often incorporate more than one song at a time is really cool because it just shows how much different kinds of music can mesh together to make something beautiful. This article talks about something I touched on a bit, and that's the fact that one of the main vocalists of this group, Jon Oliva, used to be a member of a heavy metal band, and now he's bringing his expertise on rock music into a completely different genre of music - classical. This reinforces the fact that two genres of music, that are on complete opposite ends of the music spectrum, can come together in a beautiful way and create a new genre in itself. 

Sources:

Hitt, Tarpley. “Why Christmas Can’t Quit Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 20 Years Later.” The Daily Beast, 22 Dec. 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-christmas-cant-quit-trans-siberian-orchestra-20-years-later  

“Trans-Siberian Orchestra.” Wikipedia , 3 Aug. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Siberian_Orchestra