Aylmerite living the dream on tour with Mamma Mia!

Some people do get to land their dream job. Chris Santillán from Aylmer is one of them. Since September 2016, Chris has been working as the Associate Music Director and second keyboard player for Mamma Mia!’s 'Farewell' North American Tour.

“I saw on social media last spring that Mamma Mia! was doing a North American Farewell tour. I had been sending emails trying to contact someone and I finally got a reply this past June, saying that they were looking for a keyboard player. I sent a video audition of me playing three ABBA songs and a couple of days later I received a call offering me the job. I could not say no. It all happened so quickly,” said Chris over the phone from Lincoln, Nebraska.

This new gig represented a major change of plans for the huge ABBA fan who was planning on moving to Montreal to complete his master's at McGill University in music. “I called McGill to tell them I was no longer going and packed my life in two suitcases,” he said.

Since the tour started this past fall, Chris has played in over 140 shows across North America. “The tour is great because I get to visit all of the US, and there are so many places I would have never visited otherwise, like Lincoln, Nebraska,” he chuckled. Chris will have the chance to discover more American cities with over 130 shows remaining to the tour. He fell in love with the smash hit musical, which is based on the songs of the legendary Swedish group, a dozen years ago.

“The first time I saw the show was in Toronto during a school band trip,” said Chris. “I was 12 and a student at Symmes. It was the first Broadway show I ever saw. It certainly sparked my interest in theatre and musicals. At the time, I was a drummer and played clarinet, but following the show, I wanted to learn and play all the ABBA songs on piano. I begged Santa Claus to get me a piano and at Christmas I received a keyboard and it all started from there.”

His love for music and theatre continued to grow as Chris went through high school in Aylmer. Different teachers and associations allowed him to further cultivate his passions for music and theatre.

“The Aylmer Community Theatre (ACT) Company was a big thing for me as I finished high school. Cindy Beaton (high school teacher) also had a significant influence, as she encouraged me to participate in the different theatre shows,” explained the 2009 D'Arcy McGee High School valedictorian.

Chris went on to study music at Carleton University where he joined different groups, such as the Sock 'n Buskin' Theatre Company and the Carleton Musical Theatre Society. In the same time frame, he was also Music Director at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.

The Mamma Mia! tour ends this July and Chris is not certain what he will do after. “Yes, this has certainly opened the door to different opportunities. Only time will tell what will happen after the tour,” he said.