On April 5th, the metal world lost another pioneer, Trans-Siberian Orchestra co-founder and creative force Paul O’Neill to a "chronic illness" according to an official statement. Violinist Anna Phoebe, who was a member of TSO from 2004 - 2009 has posted the following tribute to O'Neill:

"R.I.P Paul O'Neill. You started my career, and gave me an incredible opportunity as a musician. My deepest sympathies with Paul's family. Thank you for everything, Trans Siberian Orchestra."

Back in 2014, Anna spoke with BraveWords scribe Carl Begai about her decision to leave TSO and strike out on her own:

“I really appreciate the Trans-Siberian Orchestra experience for everything it gave me in all spheres. It gave me the opportunity to tour arenas, financially it was amazing. it opened my mind musically to a whole different genre. I had a chat with one of the managers before I left and he said ‘You’re at a crossroads. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is always going to be here; do you want to be the violinist, is that enough, or do you want something more?’ I love TSO, but I love writing and creating music, and doing that is how I feel happiest as a person. I need stimulus from different sources and I’ll always be like this. I wouldn’t have been happy just playing with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the same way I didn’t want to become a classical violinist. I have the utmost respect for classical musicians and for all the musicians in TSO, but I needed to allow myself some space to follow my own direction.”

“I went to see them in London on the European tour, and a couple of them asked me if I’d ever come back. I wouldn’t rule it out because I parted on really good terms with everyone, but at this point in my life it wouldn’t work. You can’t have babies and be on the road for three months. If five years or 10 years, who knows? I don’t know where my life is going to lead.”

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O’Neill passed away on April 5th at age 61.

The TSO debut album, Christmas Eve And Other Stories was released in 1996 with "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" as its cornerstone; the album was certified triple platinum in 2011. It also launched TSO as the touring juggernaut it is today, featuring two companies that tourNorth America every year leading into and during the Christmas holiday season.

"I've always believed that music has the power to transport and transform," O'Neill said in an interview. "The original concept of Trans-Siberian Orchestra was how to make music have the most emotional impact. We always try to write melodies that are so infectious they don't need lyrics and lyrics so poetic that they don’t need a melody, but when you combine the two together they create an alloy where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Once those songs are woven together into a tapestry they create a story which gives each song a third dimension."

"That was so much in the spirit of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This is a group -- a constantly morphing group -- of extremely creative and talented individuals who are always trying to raise the bar of where a band can take its audience sonically, visually and emotionally. With that as our core ideal, the possibilities are endless."

 

 

Read Metal Tim Henderson's tribute to O'Neill here.