Mannheim Steamroller

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would later update and amp up the same formula with some progged-out electric guitars, but Mannheim Steamroller, who play the Milwaukee Theatre tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m., were the first outfit to make a killing modernizing Christmas classics for New Age listeners. Their synthesized and comically dramatic arrangements of traditionals like “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” have become such seasonal hits that the group has recorded only three non-holiday albums since their 1984 Yule-time breakthrough Mannheim Steamroller Christmas. This year’s Christmasville, for comparison’s sake, is their ninth Christmas-themed record.