ABBA’s musical legacy takes the stage as a globally unique choir, presented by ABBA The Museum.

ABBA The Museum is now looking for choir members throughout Sweden and abroad who want to participate in a 50-member choir. The choir will appear for the first time at the museum in conjunction with the anniversary and singing ABBA songs; hits like Thank You For The Music, Dancing Queen, Chiquitita, Waterloo and more.

Choristers are welcome to submit their applications for the chance to make it to the final audition, which will take place in Stockholm on the 26th of January. There is also a place for an international choir member who will be coached long-distance and who will be flown in to the celebration on April 6th.

“Since we will not be reuniting for the 40th anniversary, we thought a choir singing ABBA would be exciting,” says Björn Ulvaeus. He continues, “To have a really good choir sing songs that one has written is a dream-come-true for a creator like me.”

The choirmaster will be Karin Bäckström, who works as a music teacher at Adolf Fredrik’s Music Classes and is the artistic director and conductor of the Adolf Fredrik’s Girls’ Choir.

“Choral singing has a large place in the soul of the Swedish people. Combining a choir with ABBA has been done before, but never in this way – this will be something extraordinary,” says Karin Bäckström.

The choir will sing newly written choral arrangements created by Göran Arnberg. Göran has many years of experience as Benny Andersson’s musical notator and arranger and is a member of Benny Andersson’s Orchestra, BAO.

The idea behind the choir comes from Mattias Hansson, CEO of ABBA The Museum, who wants to spread joy through song:

“When I saw an article about a choir that filled a stadium with people who wanted to participate and sing and experience that special feeling of being in a choir, that’s when I knew that the museum could offer that possibility, combined with ABBA’s timeless music,” says Mattias Hansson. He continues, “This initiative gives everyone a chance to join in and write the next chapter in music history by taking part in ABBA The Museum/The Choir.”

The selection jury consists of Kerstin Fondberg from the Swedish Choral Society along with Karin Bäckström and Mattias Hansson.

“The Swedish Choral Society (“Körförbundet”) has chosen to work with ABBA The Museum on this special choir venture. It feels exciting and unique to combine popular music with the vast numbers of talented choristers found in Sweden today. It is going to attract many people. I’m expecting some exciting new musical experiences from this choir,” says The Swedish Choral Society’s Director, Kerstin Fondberg.

Casting for the choir in Sweden will run from December 14 until January 16, 2014. Approximately 130 people will be selected and invited to an audition on January 26 in Stockholm. The final 49 individuals will be selected by the jury to immediately proceed into an intensive training period. To meet the large international interest, one (1) place has been reserved for an international choir member. The international choir member will be sought via ABBA The Museum’s web page and will compete for final selection on the museum’s Facebook page. After that, the international choir member will be trained and coached remotely over the Internet and will appear for the first time together with the rest of the choir on April 6.

Complete eligibility criteria are available on abbathemuseum.com

Facts
Karin Bäckström
Karin Bäckström was educated at the Royal College of Music and has a long and extensive career as a choir director. She started her own choir when she was 17, and since then she’s managed to lead everything from medieval Gregorian to modern pop. Karin Bäckström teaches at the Adolf Fredrik’s Music Classes and leads the aforementioned Adolf Fredrik’s Girls’ Choir. In 2012, she led the Adolf Fredrik’s Girls Choir to first place in the profane repertory at the international choir competition in Malcesine, Italy.

Göran Arnberg
Göran Arnberg studied piano for Doris Lofgren and later Stig Ribbing and has worked as a theater musician for many years. Göran has worked at Oscarsteatern with Phantom of the Opera, Cabaret, My Fair Lady and others. Göran Arnberg currently works as a musician for Chess (keyboard player), and as the conductor of Mamma Mia! at Cirkus.

Göran has also written musical notation for Benny since the early 2000s and is a member of the BAO, (harmonium and arrangement). Göran has also written arrangements for many Swedish artists such as Sven Bertil Taube, Kalle Moreaus, Sanna Nielsen, Lisa Nilsson, Tommy Körberg, and Helen Sjöholm among others. Lastly, Arnberg also performs his own music in the alternative music group Cowboy Bengts™, which was awarded a Grammy in 2001.

The Swedish Choral Society
The Swedish Choral Society (Sveriges Körförbund) was formed in 1925 and has about 14,000 members. The Society is based on the equal worth of all people, on democracy and diversity. The Society is a national, independent organization that is politically and ideologically neutral and thus has a strong cultural presence among amateurs, as well as with professional choirs and in the international choir world. As a national representative for organized choir in the country, it is aimed at the long-term development of the choir world in Sweden as well as toward international and intercultural exchange and cooperation.

About ABBA The Museum
ABBA The Museum opened its doors to the public on May 7, 2013, and is located on Djurgarden, between Liljevalchs and Gröna Lund. ABBA is Sweden’s most successful pop group. Over the years the group has sold over 378 million records worldwide. ABBA The Museum provides a comprehensive overview of the group’s history, from its formative years in the late 1960s to its breakthrough-hit, Waterloo, in 1974 and the major world tours, up until the break in 1982.

Since opening, the museum has attracted more than a quarter of a million visitors. Tickets can be purchased at abbathemuseum.com and via ABBA The Museum’s ticket partner, SJ: www.sj.se.

Opening hours

10:00 to 17:00 (Saturday – Tuesday)

12:00 to 20:00 (Wednesday – Friday)

Christmas Break December 23 – January 12: every day 10:00 to 17:00

Tickets

Adults: 195 SEK

Children less than 6-years-old get in free.

Special rates for families and children between ages 6-16.

Book online at: www.abbathemuseum.com

Stay up to date at: www.facebook.com / abbathemuseum

Address

Djurgårdsvägen 68, Djurgården, Stockholm

Press Contact

press@abbathemuseum.com

Phone: +46-73-934 35 05