Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the brainchild of Paul O’Neill, a rock producer involved in the music business since the early seventies.  Paul O’Neill managed and/or produced albums by some of Classic Rock’s biggest bands.  He briefly produced rock albums by the Progressive Metal band Savatage.  When Paul O’Neill was given the opportunity to start his own band, he drew from the members of Savatage to form Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a Progressive Rock band that combines big Rock sounds with Classical, Jazz, Improv and Progressive styles.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra was first envisioned as a band that played progressive versions of original Christmas songs.  Their first album, Christmas Eve And Other Stories was released in 1996.  Out of their total of seven albums released so far, three are Christmas albums and TSO also released a soundtrack to a TV production in 1999 titled “The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve.”

Often, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, or TSO for short, is compared to Mannheim Steamroller.  While both bands feature a progressive sound dominated by synthesizers, TSO has a much harder edge.  While Mannheim Steamroller can be considered a New Age band, I think it’s fair to say that Trans-Siberian Orchestra is more Progressive Rock.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Wikipedia