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The Trans-Siberian Orchestra will pull into the Mellon Arena for two performances on Wednesday.
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Mannheim vs. Trans-Siberian

Mannheim vs. Trans-Siberian

FORMED

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: 1996 in New Jersey.

Mannheim Steamroller: 1974 in Omaha, Neb.

FOUNDERS

TSO: Paul O'Neill was a guitarist in the touring productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Hair" and a former member of Aerosmith's and the Scorpions' management team. He enlisted keyboardist-writer Robert Kinkel, who worked with the Florida metal band Savatage, and Jon Oliva, lead singer of Savatage, which split in 2002.

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MS: Chip Davis, a native of Sylvania, Ohio, and a graduate of the University of Michigan, previously created the country music character "C.W. McCall" (of "Convoy" fame), originally for a bakery jingle. He partnered with keyboardist Jackson Berkey.

CONCEPT

TSO: A hair metal holiday with carols in rock-opera style.

MS: In the words of Davis, "18th-century classical rock."

INSPIRATION FOR NAME

TSO: Trans-Siberian Railway, which connects European Russia with the Far East.

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MS: Mannheim was an 18th-century German musical technique (an ascending arpeggio) popularized by the Mannheim school of composition. A steamroller flattens things.

FIRST GIG

TSO: 1998 at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Delaware County.

MS: 1984 at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha.

CHRISTMAS ALBUMS

TSO: Trans-Siberian was built for Christmas. It debuted with "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" (1996), the story of an angel on a quest and a runaway making it home for the holiday. It's still the group's best-selling album. "Christmas Attic" featured "Christmas Canon," a take on Pachelbel's Canon in D (1998). "The Lost Christmas Eve" completed the trilogy with the angel searching for the person most like Jesus.

MS: "Christmas," featuring modern contemporary interpretations of Yuletide favorites, was released in 1984, followed by "A Fresh Aire Christmas" (1988), "Christmas in the Aire" (1995), "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live" (1997) and the compilation "Christmas Extraordinaire" (2001). "Christmas Song" (2007) featured Johnny Mathis and Olivia Newton-John.

TOURING BAND

TSO: Two different touring ensembles with 14 vocalists, 14 musicians and two narrators.

MS: This is the first year there will be two touring ensembles, neither of which will feature Chip Davis. East Coast group features Chuck Pennington (conductor, piano, keyboards), Mark Agnor (violin), Glen Smith (bass, lute, guitar), Tom Sharpe (percussion, drums) and Joey Gulizia (percussion) accompanied by strings and brass.

STAGE SHOW

TSO: Arena-sized pyrotechnics, lasers and lights synchronized with the music. O'Neill claims to spend a million dollars every two weeks to blow things up.

MS: Music timed to theater-sized video projections and flying angels.

EASTER? HALLOWEEN?

TSO: No.

MS: Yes. "Halloween" (2003) featured versions of "Hall of the Mountain King," "Ride of the Valkyries" and "Night on Bald Mountain," and the three-disc "Halloween 2" (2006) had "Monster Mash" and theme songs from "The Addams Family," "X-Files," "The Munsters" and "Psycho."

HOLIDAYS ASIDE

TSO: "Beethoven's Last Night" (2000), a concept album about Ludwig van's last night on Earth.

MS: Mannheim started with an ongoing series of "Fresh Aire" albums, New Age-y music based on the seasons, beginning in 1975.

NEW FOR 2008

TSO: It has been four years since the last album, but the long-awaited "Nightcastle" is due next summer and "Night Enchanted," the first single, has been released.

MS: Not one but two new albums: Mellow holiday hymns on "A Candle Light Christmas" (for Wal-Mart shoppers) and "Christmasville," an adaptation of the "Grinch" soundtrack for Universal Studios Orlando's "Grinchmas."

MARKETING

TSO: The group is holding a contest for people to create a holiday light show on their houses to TSO music.

Mannheim: You can find them right now at Wal-Mart and Universal Studios Orlando.

-- Scott Mervis

First Published: December 11, 2008, 10:00 a.m.

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The Trans-Siberian Orchestra will pull into the Mellon Arena for two performances on Wednesday.
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