Press

Press Release - HSBC names Sing In French as a Regional Winner in the 2008 Start Up Stars National Competition -

When linguist, musician and songwriter Marie Atallah worked as a music teacher at Chris Dann's Wimbledon Music school, a unique creative partnership was born.

Their original concept was to make learning French easier and more fun by recording new arrangements of traditional French songs. Then the pair decided to develop the concept further and write their own brand new French songs. Sing in French Limited was set up to launch their series of original songs, each one focusing on a different aspect of the French curriculum from Key Stages 1-3 and set to a mix of musical styles, from rap to jazz. The songs are written to follow the natural intonations of the language, helping children improve their pronunciation as well as build up vocabulary and learn grammatical structures.

Marie and Chris’s first double CD, ‘Cha Cha Cha Comme Ci Comme Ca’, proved an instant hit when it was launched at educational fairs and exhibitions in 2005 and there are now two more products – a second album ‘Cha Cha Cha Excusez Moi!’ and a ‘Sing along in French’ panto-style musical show called ‘Pinot’ that encourages audiences to join in songs with the words projected onto a screen.

This is a business that has created a completely new niche market for educational French songs and has considerable potential for expansion. Ideas already in development include a commercial production of the musical show, ‘Pinot’, a range of ‘Pinot’ branded merchandise, links with French products sold in the UK and extending the products’ sales base to include the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Most surprisingly, Marie and Chris have found their songs don’t only appeal to English speakers - they are proving just as popular amongst French children!