'Trans-Siberian Symphony Experience' on Tucson stage

Electric violinist Mark Wood will make his Tucson debut at the Rialto Theatre next week, five years after he and his wife Laura Kaye moved here at the start of the pandemic.

But chances are, many in Tucson may have already have made his acquaintance.

You may have met him when he and Kaye were making their rounds in Tucson Unified School District schools through their long-running music in the classrooms program. The couple has been working with TUSD schools since 2009 or so and each year, they do a concert with Sabino students. 

Or you might have seen him on the Tucson Arena stage in the handful of times with his former band, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, in their elaborate Christmas concept show to Tucson.

But his show Wednesday, Dec. 17, will be the first time we see Wood as headliner.

Wood will team up with Tucson Pops Orchestra for his "Trans-Siberian Symphony Experience," a concert that Wood had longed to do with Trans-Siberian Orchestra during his 15 years as its "original string master."

"The Trans-Siberian Orchestra was just me on violin and there was no real orchestra," Wood explained. "I was like, 'We got to get a symphony orchestra,' and obviously that didn't fly with the producer (founder Paul O'Neill). So I was like, "I'm going to put my own thing together.' "

Wood performs a handful of "The Mark Wood Trans-Siberian Symphony Experience" concerts each year including one in Phoenix in January with a local middle school.

For his Rialto show, Wood is bringing in TUSD students from Sabino High, and Secrist and Magee middle schools, as well as vocalists from those schools. In their schools programs, Wood works with the instrumentalists while Kaye, who sings in her husband's shows, works with the vocalists. 

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They'll also have five vocalists from Reveille Men’s Chorus.

But the biggest sonic blast will come from the Tucson Pops, an ensemble comprised mostly of University of Arizona and moonlighting Tucson Symphony Orchestra musicians.

"Having this setting with Mark and the Trans Siberian Orchestra music is super unique," said Pops Music Director Khris Dodge. "It's not like anything else that's being done in Tucson. It's just a wonderful musical experience opportunity for not only the orchestra members to play something different, but also for the community to take in some great music."

Wood will draw from his eight solo albums as well as his orchestrations of Trans-Siberian works including from the band's trio of Christmas albums and its concept album "Beethoven's Last Night."

"We've sold over 15 million records that I was part of," he said.

His symphonic orchestrations to the Trans-Siberian songs "really opened up the music."

"It's far more exciting and more powerful," he said. "We're doing Beethoven, we're doing Mozart, we're doing the Christmas stuff, all on a much bigger level, with brass and strings and percussionists. So the audience is going to be witnessing a sort of a new version of Trans-Siberian Orchestra."

As far as Dodge can tell, this is the first time in its 70-year history that the Pops has collaborated in a rock concert.

"I'm totally looking forward to it, and it's totally in my wheelhouse of all the things that I do," said Dodge, who in addition to leading the Pops produces pops concerts with his Khris Dodge Entertainment and is the executive and artistic director of the HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival.

"I'm very comfortable playing this music and we have the best of the best (with) our core band or our local musicians. They are amazing players. It's just going to be one of these great moments to really showcase the orchestra, showcase Tucson School District, showcase my music, and further attach me to the music scene so that we can really elevate that," he said. 

Wednesday's concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St. Tickets are $38.50-$94.85 through rialtotheatre.com.