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<p>Founder, composer and band leader for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Paul O&#8217;Neill has died at the age of 61.</p><p>The multi-instrumentalist and producer known for writing classical and heavy metal melding Christmas hits like &#8220;Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24&#8221; had been battling a chronic illness, according to an article published by <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/trans-siberian-orchestra-founder-paul-oneill-dead-at-61-w475347" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a> today.</p><p>TSO, which launched yearly tours in the eastern and western halves of the U.S., <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/features/609310/trans-siberian-orchestra-eyes-mohegan-sun-arena-with-expanded-production" target="_blank">visited Wilkes-Barre</a> regularly and most recently for two shows in November.</p><p>O&#8217;Neill was the co-creator of several gold and platinum-selling Christmas-themed albums, and he had a penchant for creating music based on original stories he had written &#8212; a tribute to both rock operas and Broadway productions of which he was a devoted fan.</p><p>The stage show created under his direction perenially pushed the envelope of stage theatrics and pyrotechnics in rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll.</p><p>O&#8217;Neill was a humanitarian who, in recent years, arranged for portions of money raised on TSO tours to be directly donated to people in need.</p><p>A statement made on TSO&#8217;s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TSO/?ref=br_rs" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> described the production&#8217;s family as &#8220;heartbroken.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;He was our friend and our leader &#8212; a truly creative spirit and an altruistic soul,&#8221; the statement said of O&#8221;Niell. &#8220;This is a profound and indescribable loss for us all.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">O&#8217;Neill </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_PaulONeil.jpg</photo0><caption0>O&#8217;Neill </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Times Leader staff reports</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or on Twitter @TimesLeaderMatt.</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> MHioIlbnS_A</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHioIlbnS_A</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> &lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/MHioIlbnS_A&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Christmas Eve/Sarajevo [Timesless Version]</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Atlantic Records</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Trans-Siberian Orchestra founder, composer Paul O’Neill dead at age 61