Trans-Siberian Orchestra Celebrates 25 Years of Bringing Christmas Rock to Tulsa

Trans-Siberian Orchestra has been enchanting audiences for 25 years, playing for more than 19 million people. The group is back in Tulsa, ready to bring their brand of rock and roll Christmas spirit to the BOK Center.

Humble Beginnings, Massive Growth

Music Director and guitarist Al Patel reflected on the group's origins, saying, "In '99 we did our first show. We had a box truck, a fog machine, and a bus. We thought we were awesome. And at the BOK right now, there's 20 semis, 12 busses, and 80 people on the Coronavirus fog machines. So we're bringing back a bigger show than ever."

Maintaining Tradition, Introducing New Elements

Patel discussed the balance of keeping familiar elements for repeat fans while also surprising them.

"They want to come see their tradition intact. You know, they fall in love with Paul stories, you know, and that's like when I was a kid, was Miracle on 34th Street and Charlie Brown or whatever. You know, you want that familiar portion of your holiday, but my job is to keep them on their heels the rest of the night," he said.

A Lifelong Dream Realized

Patel shared his personal connection to the group.

"If you would ask me this, 25-30 years ago, I would have said, now, how could this happen? Right? You know, it grew organically. It's something that people latched on to and won't look over. I'm very proud of that, you know, I've been dreaming about this since I was a kid," said Patel.