Growing up in New York, O’Neill was exposed to a wide range of the arts. “What I try to do is combine the influences for as much impact as possible to the audience,” O’Neill said. Those influences, lyrically, include Oscar Wilde and Victor Hugo; musically, Beethoven, Mozart and Pink Floyd. “Pink Floyd was always way, way ahead of the curve,” O’Neill said. Mix that classic prog-rock with a full orchestra and operatic singers, and you get TSO’s popular rock operas.

Think “Phantom of the Opera” or The Who’s “Tommy,” with a holiday theme. “We try to write the lyrics so that each song can hold up individually, but together creates a story that adds a third dimension that wasn’t there before,” O’Neill said. “It’s like with the ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ song ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him.’ To hear it by itself, it’s a love song. But in context, it’s Mary Magdalene with Jesus. And that’s a whole other angle.” Show details: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 8 p.m. Nov.

30, Breslin Center on the campus of MSU, tickets $49.50-$39.50 plus fees, at the Breslin Center box office, 432-5000, www.breslincenter.com and all Ticketmaster outlets. Anne Erickson’s column appears Thursdays in What’s On. Have a band or a concert to promote? Contact her at aerickson@lsj.com .