Mamma Mia! - June 07 - June 08, 2023
Holy Trinity Catholic High School
Crew Who's Who
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Björn Ulvaeus
When he was six years old, the family moved to the small town of Västervik, and this is where Björn grew up. By the early Sixties, he was a member of a folk group called the West Bay Singers. In 1963, the group entered a talent contest arranged by Swedish radio. This led to discovery by songwriter and publisher Stig Anderson and his partner, Bengt Bernhag. Stig and Bengt had recently started a record company called Polar Music. The band acquired a new name, the Hootenanny Singers, and quickly became one of Sweden’s most popular groups of the Sixties. In 1966, Björn had a chance meeting with Benny Andersson, himself a member of Sweden’s number-one pop group, The Hep Stars. They hit it off and wrote their first song together, ‘Isn’t It Easy to Say’.
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Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson was a member of the Hep Stars from 1964 to 1968, Sweden’s most popular rock band in the Sixties. During this time, he began composing music. Andersson, of course, is best known for being a member of ABBA since 1972. Between 1982 and 1984, Benny composed the music (together with Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice) for the musical Chess. In 1987, he began collaborating with Orsa Spelmän and recorded three albums rooted in Swedish folk music: Klinga Mina Klockor, November 1989 and Fiolen Min. Working with Björn in 1990 to 1995, Benny composed the music to Kristina från Duvemåla, which premiered in October 1995. In 2007, Benny was inducted in to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and in 2008 he was appointed Honorary Doctor of the College of Humanities at Stockholm University, and at Luleå University of Technology in 2012.
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