The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American progressive rock band that is known for their elaborate holiday-themed rock operas and concerts. The band was founded in 1996 by producer Paul O’Neill and gained popularity in the 2000s for their Christmas-themed rock albums and tours.
There has been some confusion over the years about whether there are one or two Trans-Siberian Orchestra bands touring and performing concerts. This is because the band essentially operates two different touring groups – an East coast group and a West coast group. However, they are considered one unified band with the same music, production, and overall brand.
Background on Trans-Siberian Orchestra
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra was founded by Paul O’Neill along with producers Robert Kinkel and Jon Oliva. O’Neill had previously produced and managed rock bands like Aerosmith and Savatage.
The band’s first album was Christmas Eve and Other Stories, released in 1996, a rock opera focusing on Christmas themes and stories. This concept album proved very popular, going triple platinum.
TSO followed up with more Christmas-themed albums and tours over the years including The Christmas Attic (1998), The Lost Christmas Eve (2004), and Letters from the Labyrinth (2015). Their non-holiday albums include Beethoven’s Last Night (2000) and Night Castle (2009).
Over the years, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has evolved into a combination of a rock band and theatrical production. Their live shows are known for elaborate light shows, lasers, pyrotechnics, storytelling, and theatrics.
East Coast and West Coast TSO Groups
Because of the huge scale and visual effects involved in Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s concerts, it was logistically necessary for them to create two touring groups in order to cover as much ground in North America as possible.
Around 2000, they began operating an East coast touring group and a West coast touring group. The East coast group generally covers shows in the eastern half of the U.S. while the West coast group covers the western half.
Having two touring groups makes it possible for TSO to perform over 100 shows in dozens of cities during their annual winter concert tour between November and December. If there was only one group, they would not be able to cover so many markets during the short holiday touring season.
Uniformity between East and West TSO
While there are two touring groups, the East and West Trans-Siberian Orchestras are considered to be one unified band.
Some key elements that make the two groups uniform:
- They perform the same songs, music, and rock operas.
- The production value, lighting, lasers, and pyrotechnics are similar across both groups.
- The band leaders ensure consistency in overall performance quality.
- Members may rotate between the groups depending on scheduling.
- The same core creative team including Paul O’Neill is behind both groups.
- Both groups have string and horn sections and electric guitarists.
- The branding and marketing is the same for both East and West tours.
So while there are two separate touring troupes, they both represent the Trans-Siberian Orchestra brand and follow the same creative vision. The dual group strategy simply allows them to cover more ground.
Members of the Two TSO Groups
Since there are two touring groups, the onstage musicians that fans see can be different depending on whether they attend an East coast or West coast show. However, some members rotate between both groups.
Here are some of the core members that have performed in both versions of TSO over the years:
- Al Pitrelli – guitar, musical director
- Chris Caffery – guitar, vocals
- Jeff Plate – drums
- Mee Eun Kim – keyboards
- Asha Mevlana – violin
- Roddy Chong – violin
And here are some distinguished members that have mainly stayed with one group:
East Coast Members
- Mark Wood – electric violin
- Kayla Reeves – vocals
- Bart Shatto – vocals
West Coast Members
- Russell Allen – vocals
- Jay Pierce – guitar
- Andrew Ross – vocals
Again, there is crossover between the lineups, but certain performers have largely stuck with either the East or West group depending on relationships, schedules, and location. Both rosters contain top-tier performers.
Behind the Scenes Creative Team
Even though Trans-Siberian Orchestra has two different touring groups, the same core creative team is behind both East and West TSO, ensuring consistency in the production.
Paul O’Neill managed both groups until his death in 2017. Al Pitrelli now serves as TSO’s musical director while Chris Caffery helps coordinate rock elements and musicians.
Other key creative members behind the unified TSO brand include:
- Jon Oliva – Co-creator, composer, keyboards
- Robert Kinkel – Co-creator, composer, keyboards
- Luci Butler – Stage director
- Vitalij Kuprij – Keyboards, arranger
This overlap in creative leadership ensures that the East and West groups maintain the core spirit and vision of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, even when touring in different regions.
Touring Schedule
The dual touring groups allow TSO to cover a vast amount of ground for their busy winter tour schedule. While the cities may differ, the production and setlist remain uniform across all shows.
Here is an example breakdown of the East and West touring routes:
East Coast Tour Cities
- Washington DC
- Philadelphia
- New York City
- Boston
- Pittsburgh
- Detroit
- Chicago
- Toronto
West Coast Tour Cities
- Dallas
- Denver
- Salt Lake City
- Phoenix
- San Francisco
- Portland
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
Again, having the two groups makes it possible to cover more major markets in the U.S. and Canada during the short holiday tour season.
Branding and Marketing
Trans-Siberian Orchestra maintains the same branding and marketing for both the East and West touring groups. They are not considered or promoted as wholly separate bands.
Some elements of their unified branding:
- Same TSO logo and imagery used in promotional material
- Consistent social media accounts representing TSO as a whole
- Merchandise sold at shows is the same regardless of city
- Website and ads make no distinction between two groups
- Tickets/marquees simply say “Trans-Siberian Orchestra”
From a business standpoint, TSO operates as one cohesive rock band with two touring companies handling logistics in different regions. But their branding always positions them as one act.
Conclusion
While Trans-Siberian Orchestra utilizes dual touring groups for their massive holiday production, they ultimately represent one unified rock band and brand. The East and West groups allow them to cover more ground, but the music, scheduling, and vision comes from the same core creative team. So there are not really two separate TSO bands – just two halves of a spectacular whole.