The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has announced its first shows of 2012, which will be the final leg of the group’s tour to promote their rock-opera Beethoven’s Last Night. Currently, the band is on the road for its Winter 2011 tour that will run through the end of the year. After that, the band will take a couple months off before hitting over 60 markets for the 2012 Spring tour, which will run from early March until mid-May.

Beethoven’s Last Night was released in 2000 as the group’s first album not based on the holiday themes for which it has become most known. The album, as it sounds, tells the story of the composer’s last night on earth. As the band puts it:

Come experience the tale of Beethoven’s last night on earth. Combining what happened with what might have happened, the story revolves around the tough choice that the composer must make with what will be his life’s legacy.

The band has been performing the album on tours in 2010 and 2011, and a press release says that after this final leg, the band will focus on a new album and a new live show. The first show will be held March 3 at the Ford Arena in Beaumont, Texas, and the final show will be May 13 at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich. The band will traverse the United States in between those dates.

Most known for its trilogy of rock operas focusing on Christmas, the band usually splits into two factions during winter tours so it can cover more ground, often performing in two different cities on the same night. Christmas Eve and Other Stories, the group’s 1996 debut, is its best known and best-selling album, known for the songs “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” and a cover of “O Holy Night,” among others.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s 2011 winter outing has been mapped out with several touring companies to ensure just about everybody in Canada and the U.S. will have the chance to see the ultimate multi-media experience.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra was founded by Paul O’Neill in 1993 and combines the best elements from progressive rock. The group first began touring in 1999, as they carried as much special effects, lasers and pyro as they could in their trucks as they stopped in city after city. Many fans just don’t consider it Christmas unless there is TSO.

This year multiple touring companies will be canvassing North America. Often there will be both evening and matinee performances. The tour kicks off on November 11 this year in Wilkes-Barre, PA and plays at Casey Plaza in Mohegan Sun Arena and Council Bluffs, Iowa at Mid American Center. Other stops on the trek include November 12 in Springfield, MO and Uncasville, CT; November 13 in Wichita Falls, Texas and Manchester, N.H.; November 19 in Sacramento, CA and Philadelphia, PA; November 27 in Boston, MA and Portland, OR; and December 23 in Houston, TX and Pittsburgh, PA.

Those dates are only a sampling of the whole tour. Currently it runs through December 30. To truly appreciate the scope of this outing, you will need to check out the whole itinerary.

On August 31, there will be presale for the shows in November. On September 1 the presale for the December gigs will start via the TSO website. For more information, go to Trans-SiberianExpress.com.

Paul O’Neill and the rest of the New York-based prog-rock symphonic metal musicians Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be going against the cold months of November and December for a never-before-seen TSO tour scheme this winter.

The band will be performing in two different cities in one date. To do that, they decided to split into two smaller TSO groups and perform in more cities despite the intense cold weather ahead. The tour will have two kick-off points then, one in Council Bluffs, IA and another in Youngstown, OH on November 3.

Towards the end of November, the two halves of the band will be featured in shows from coast to coast, starting off with a coast-to-coast show in Salt Lake City and another in Washington, DC on November 18.

The tour, which kicked off in the Midwest, will also end in the Midwest with wrap-up shows in Auburn Hills, MI and Saint Louis, MO on December 30.

The tour is a huge undertaking for the group as not only will they divide performing duties to cover more cities, but they are also working on filling every performance with pyrotechnics, laser works, eye-catching and eye-popping light works and other audio-visual antics which is usually seen in most TSO shows. But for this tour, band front man Paul O’Neill raises not only the bar, but also peoples’ expectations, “We want them to say, ‘Man, that was the best show ever; we just ripped that band off”, says O’Neill through a press release.

Tickets will go for as low as $25 which is also one of O’Neill’s main targets for the upcoming tour. For ticket sale dates and times, visit the band’s website.

The band is expected to perform hits from their fifth record “Night Castle” which was released late last year, and also from “Beethoven’s Last Night” which is the band’s live concept album featuring rock opera tunes while chronicling Beethoven’s final days with a twist. The record surfaced in the market this year.

2010 Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert Tour
November 2010
3- Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
3 – Council Bluffs, IA – Mid-America Center
4 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Civic Center Coliseum
4 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena
5 – University Park, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
5 – Springfield, MO – JQH Arena
6 – Hartford, CT – XL Center
6 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena
7 – Manchester, NH – Verizon Wireless Arena
7 – Fort Wayne, IN – Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
8 – Madison, WI – Kohl Center Arena
10 – Dayton, OH – Erwin J. Nutter Center
11 – Toledo, OH – The Huntington Center
12 – Rochester, NY – Blue Cross Arena
13 – Hershey, PA – Giant Center
13 – Seattle, WA – KeyArena at Seattle Center
14 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
14 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena
15 – Portland, OR – Rose Garden Arena
17 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
17 – Boise, ID – Taco Bell Arena
18 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
18 – Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
19 – Richmond, VA – Richmond Coliseum
20 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
20 – Sacramento, CA – ARCO Arena
21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
21 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion at San Jose
24 – Cincinnati, OH – US Bank Arena
24 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
26 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
26 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Sports Arena
27 – Indianapolis, IN – Conseco Fieldhouse
27 – Las Vegas, NV – Thomas & Mack Center
28 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
28 – Glendale, AZ – Jobing.com Arena

December 2010
1 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena
1, 2 – Oklahoma City, OK – Ford Center
2 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
3 – Columbia, SC – Colonial Life Arena
3 – Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
4 – Greenville, SC – Bi-Lo Center
4 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
5 – Raleigh, NC – RBC Center
5 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
8 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
8 – Bossier City, LA – CenturyTel Center
9 – Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
9 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Arena
10 – Miami, FL – AmericanAirlines Arena
10 – Duluth, GA – The Arena at Gwinnett Center
11 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
11 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Arena
12 – Orlando, FL – Amway Arena
12 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
15 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
15 – Wichita, KS – InTrust Bank Arena
16 – Providence, RI – Dunkin’ Donuts Center
16 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
17 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
17 – Memphis, TN – FedExForum
18 – North Little Rock, AR – Verizon Arena
19 – Buffalo, NY – HSBC Arena
19 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
22 – Ottawa, Ontario – Scotiabank Place
22 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
23 – Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
23 – Colorado Springs, CO – Colorado Springs World Arena
26 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
26 – Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center
27 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
28 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
29 – Grand Rapids, OH – Van Andel Arena
29 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
30 – Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
30 – Saint Louis, MO – Scottrade Center

Trans-Siberian Orchestra has announced a slate of spring concerts. The rock symphony will be performing “Beethoven’s Last Night” at the shows in its entirety.

The tour of intimate theaters will kick off in Cincinnati on March 25 and feature 30 other concerts across the eastern part of the US. Currently the tour concludes in Grand Prairie, TX on May 2.

Paul O’Neill, rock producer, lyricist and composer for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, started the band in 1996 to provide an outlet for the rock operas he wrote. He tapped his collaborators Jon Oliva and Robert Kinkel as the core of its writing team. Players for the group consist of a hard rock band along with a full orchestra and large lead vocalist ensemble. They cover everything from classical to rock to R&B and Broadway.

In addition to performing their 2000 release “Beethoven’s Last Night,”they will also be playing songs from “Night Castle,” the group’s release from last October, during the second part of their concerts.

O’Neill said in a recent press release, we try to always stay on the cutting edge as well as one step ahead in terms of expectations from our fans. We try to make what is impossible possible and to make what has not been imagined yet, real.

Billboard named Trans-Siberian Orchestra as one of the Top 25 Touring Artists of the Decade. They celebrated their fifth debut on the Billboard 200 chart with “Night Castle.” It was certified gold in under eight weeks.

2010 Trans Siberian Orchestra Concert Tour
March 2010
25 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
26 – Akron, OH – E.J. Thomas Hall
27 – Cleveland, OH – Playhouse Square
28 – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theatre
31 – Providence, RI – Providence Performing Arts Center

April 2010
1 – Boston, MA – Wang Theatre – Citi Performing Arts Center
2 – Hartford, CT – Bushnell Center for Performing Arts
3 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Theatre
4 – Pittsburgh, PA – Benedum Center
5 – Erie, PA – Warner Theatre
7 – Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
8 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
9 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
10 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre
11 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre
13 – Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
15 – Buffalo, NY – Shea’s Performing Arts Center
16 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theater
17 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
18 – St. Louis, MO – Fabulous Fox Theatre
20 – Grand Rapids, MI – DeVos Performance Hall
21 – Detroit, MI – Detroit Opera House
22 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre
23 – Des Moines, IA – Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
24 – Minneapolis, MN – The State Theatre
25 – Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Music Hall
27 – Oklahoma City, OK – Civic Center Music Hall
28 – Amarillo, TX – Amarillo Civic Center
30 – San Antonio, TX – San Antonio Municipal Auditorium

May 2010
1 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theater
2 – Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie