Al Pitrelli is not Santa Claus, but he does zip around the country spreading joy at Christmastime.

A guitarist by trade, Pitrelli is the musical director for Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s heavy metal holiday season fantasia of lasers, lights, pyro and squalling guitar solos wrapped in religious and mystical storylines.

TSO’s 1996 debut, the rock opera “Christmas Eve and Other Stories,” is one of the best-selling holiday albums of the past 40 years. Its classical music/heavy metal mashup “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” has permeated popular culture from football games to car commercials to an episode of “The Office.” TSO’s “Wizards of Winter” is the soundtrack to countless holiday light displays.

People who wouldn’t dream of patronizing Iron Maiden or Judas Priest will happily attend a Trans

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