Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert

I recently went to a Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) concert to get me in the holiday spirit. This was my first TSO concert, and I was looking forward to it. I became a fan of TSO because of their Christmas music, not knowing that they are so much more. For those of you who don’t know (because I didn’t) TSO is made up of six longhaired rocker guys and one girl. The name orchestra is used in a different way when talking about TSO. When I think about an orchestra I see a large group of musicians playing strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, and a conductor leading them. TSO is different in that they are a band with guitars, drums and keyboards that also has a string section of 6 musicians. These musicians are selected from a local orchestra from the city TSO is currently playing in.

     This concert was amazing. I knew that the audio would be good because I already love their songs, but I had no idea that the production quality was going to be so high. TSO tells a story with their music. They have a narrator who paints the picture, and then the song and lights display tells the story. The lighting was expertly done. The lights dance around the area and stage in a very visually appealing way that highlights the tempo of the song.

The rigging moved up and down. It had video monitors on the ends, and at one point the monitor displayed teeth. The rigging looked like a dragon with flame coming out of its’ mouth. There was cold flow, snow falling and lasers. As well as a bridge that came down from the celling that their dancers danced on. This is the type of show that I would like to work on one day.

I would really like to know how they finance a tour like this. I had the highest price range ticket of $70. TSO does something really nice. One dollar from every ticket goes to a local charity in the city they are currently playing in. For the concert I went to $10,883 was given to a local soup kitchen. Then they have to pay their crew to set up and break down the set. The equipment I assume is rented. TSO has 6 orchestra members, 7 singers, 1 narrator and 7 members of the band. It takes a lot to put on a concert. If I want to start my own venue I am going to have to learn a lot more about finance, and I hope that this month will be a great start to my financial education.