Music group salutes Trans-Siberian flair
By Bob Kostanczuk Post-Tribune correspondent December 5, 2012 3:16PM
Lighting and visual panache are key elements of Trans Infinity Orchestra shows. The rocked-up Christmas concert is being presented Dec. 15, 2012, at Merrillville's Star Plaza Theatre. | Ralf Lipp FotoGraf-Imaging
If you go
What: Trans Infinity Orchestra performing the music of Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Where: Star Plaza Theatre, U.S. 30 and Interstate 65, Merrillville
When: 8 p.m. Dec. 15
Tickets: $25, $30 and $40; available through Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com
More details: www.starplazatheatre.com
Updated: January 8, 2013 6:12AM
The Trans Infinity Orchestra has found its niche in the world of tribute acts that salutes everyone from the Beatles to Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack.
The orchestra is doing well by paying homage to the yuletide sounds of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
“We started it three years ago; it just keeps getting bigger,”said Robert Biagi, bassist for the intriguing TIO undertaking. “There’s tons of tribute bands. There’s not, like, a Christmas tribute band out there.”
Trans Infinity Orchestra is happy to fill that void by re-creating the grand and progressive holiday music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
To achieve that end, TIO touts its use of an eye-catching light show and small choir, in addition to trotting out the classical bent provided by a viola.
The Trans Infinity experience has a Dec. 15 date at Merrillville’s Star Plaza Theatre, where rockin’ holiday favorites will be dispensed as a feel-good addendum to the works of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Known for a majestic orchestral approach to Christmas fare, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has consistently been a top touring attraction during the holiday season. It recently released a five-song disc called “Dreams of Fireflies (On a Christmas Night).”
With a background in the rock-band realm, the guys in Trans Infinity Orchestra switch gears with TSO gigs, which afford them the chance to don tuxes and turn out a high-energy show with a vibrant-visual sweep.
“It’s like a high; it’s just intense,” said Scott Flaws, the group’s tour manager, production manager and lighting director.
Biagi — a resident of Woodridge, Ill. — said his tribute show has a key endorsement.
“We did talk to TSO and got their approval,” Biagi said. “I’ve been going to see TSO shows for many, many moons.”
In order to spin out the full-bodied audio of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Biagi’s group utilizes a three-keyboard setup, according to Flaws.
Opening TIO’s 8 p.m. show on Dec. 15 will be Nicole Jamrose — the Dyer singer-guitarist who was the top female finisher in 2006 on “Nashville Star,” a nationally televised music-competition series.
Jamrose will sing holiday tunes, according to TIO, an Illinois band based in the Chicago suburbs.
