Tom Sharpe is taking the road less traveled with his new album.

The veteran musician is well-known to audiences worldwide for his annual tours as the drummer in Mannheim Steamroller, as well as playing with former Styx maestro Dennis DeYoung. But he's much more than that. Sharpe is also a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and composer in his own right. 

Sharpe's latest album is Lifting the World, which sees him turning his attention to a full-blown symphony. The album features Sharpe on multiple instruments, blending percussion elements, piano, strings, a choir and more for an ambitious, challenging piece of work that is an amalgam of classical and world music. Sharpe draws on a very broad palette, but has also created a work that is accessible to the average listener by focusing on structure and strong, clean melodies.

Tom Sharpe talks to Long Live Rock about his stint in Mannheim, his recent departure from DeYoung's group, the process behind Lifting the World and more!