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KVC-Arts 11/8/26 - Al Pitrelli and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra 2026 Tour

Trans-Siberian Orchestra starts their 2026 tour of The Ghosts of Christmas Eve very soon, with a stop in Ontario December 5th!

And to add to that, it's the 30th anniversary of TSO!

David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli, and beyond SOME song-specific questions, they address the storytelling aspect to successful delivery of a song, and the timing of it all...the rather quick transition from "Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24," from the Savatage release, Dead Winter Dead...to a conversation around Paul O'Neills breakfast table...to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra starts their 2026 tour of The Ghosts of Christmas Eve very soon. It's bigger and better, to quote both Al Pitrelli and every press release ever sent out. And to add to that, it's the 30th anniversary of TSO, so there'll be some special and notable changes here and there. And of course they go beyond the story of The Ghosts of Christmas Eve. There's always a "greatest hits" kinda portion of the shows as well.

David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli, and beyond SOME song-specific questions, they address the storytelling aspect to successful delivery of a song, and the timing of it all...the rather quick transition from "Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24," from the Savatage release, Dead Winter Dead...to a conversation around Paul O'Neills breakfast table...to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Learn more about not just what that song represented, but what Al saw in his mind's eye before bringing it to life. This just moments after Al read the score and said to Paul, "Dude! What's with the Christmas song?"

And then it became...this!

David Fleming is from Murray, Kentucky. Between college, David worked for the Public Affairs Division of the USS Ranger’s radio and television station. He has served with NPR member stations for over 30 years and also works as a visual artist specializing in temporary Sharpie tattoos. Hear David Fleming weekdays on All Things Considered.
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  • David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli, Music Director for, and one of the guitarists with, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. With the exception of 2020, TSO has come to the region every year for QUITE some time now. Last year, while they didn’t come to our area physically, they DID provide a special virtual concert. We spoke about THAT concert, as well as being on the road again this year with a stop in Ontario December 4th at the Toyota Arena.
  • David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli, Music Director for, and one of the guitarists with, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We’ll hear about the current tour of The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, as well as touching lightly on a few other albums… including Savatage (thank you Devin Perkins). Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be in the region December 3rd, and KVCRhas tickets at a couple different giving levels as we go into our Fall Membership Campaign. kvcrnews.org/support for more.
  • David Fleming speaks once again with Al Pitrelli, guitarist, music director and original member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We'll hear a bit more about Savatage (the group out of which TSO was born) - specifically, Paul O'Neil, the main storyteller for Savatage AND Trans-Siberian Orchestra. A bit from and about TSO of course, and also touching lightly on some funk/fusion projects Pitrelli was a part of at one point - O'2L and CPR and/or The Randy Coven Band.Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be in the region December 3rd touring The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, and KVCR has tickets at a couple different giving levels during our Fall Membership Campaign. Listen - and give - at kvcrnews.org.
  • David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli, music director for, and one of the guitarists, with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, touring live again this year, with two performances in Ontario December 2nd. We'll hear about how, when and why TSO split into two touring groups, the story of Ghosts of Christmas Eve, Leonard Bernstein, Steve Vai - which ties in with David Lee Roth AND Alice Cooper - the latter of which ties BACK to both Bernstein and TSO...And more.
  • David Fleming speaks with Al Pitrelli - music director for, and one of the guitarists with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We'll hear about their latest tour of "The Lost Christmas Eve." That's one they haven't touched in about a dozen years, though this album is filled with TSO favorites.
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