Ealing Singing Teacher – Spotlight on Mark!
- Published Date: March 22, 2024
Jigsaw Manager Dani interviewed Mark, who teaches singing at Jigsaw Performing Arts School Ealing!
Ealing Singing Teacher Mark has been at the school since 2015!
Spotlight on Mark!
Dani: So Mark, when did you start at Jigsaw Ealing?
Mark: I started teaching singing at Jigsaw Ealing in 2015.
Dani: That’s insane!
Mark: It really is, and it’s been an amazing journey and one that I’m looking forward to continuing.
Dani: Lovely, we never want to lose you because the kids absolutely adore you. I don’t know why you’re always the favourite teacher! Why? Why do you think you’re their favourite teacher?
Mark: I’m not sure, I think it’s because you know what, I love them. Do you know what I mean? As if they were my own children and I truly believe that if you invest in the next generation then you will always be rewarded and so I feel like every single time that I’m with them I just give them everything that I possibly can and yeah I think they just see me as like a big brother or an uncle or something like that.
Dani: Nice, nice. So how do you inspire that in them?
Mark: I think you have to really put your mindset into theirs, you know. Even if you have a favourite genre of music or a favourite style of dance or drama, you have to remind yourself that actually it has to be something that they’re going to be engaged with. When it comes to picking songs, or thinking of musicals, I really try to think of something that’s got a bit of a modern twist to it so that it’s something that they can instantly recognise. And also, I remind myself of who inspired me when I was being taught!
Dani: So saying that, because obviously you’re a massive inspiration and even the adults, when you sing, are always like, can we just listen to Mark sing, please? So you forget that your voice is an inspiration in itself. That you just always give it 110%.
Dani: So what are you doing with your voice these days?
Mark: So I’m part of a songwriting collective called Secret Pen. We meet once a week and we write songs across all different genres, from pop, rock, R&B, you name it, you can turn our hand to it. It is a collective of three people, myself and two other people that are very dear to me as well. And then outside of that, I’m putting the finishing touches on my debut EP! I cannot believe I’ve never released an EP at this point, but I’m putting the finishing touches to it at the moment.
Dani: I mean, hold on, is that a secret? Like how come you haven’t said?
Mark: Well, you know, it is something that I’ve been working on for the last kind of six months or more. And yeah, I’ve got to do some photo shoots soon and we’re talking about concepts for videos. We haven’t shot any videos yet, but that’s what we’re looking to do. It’s 2024, we’re going all out! In 2023, I made specific goals for myself and there’s a famous singer songwriter from the UK that I said, I need to meet this person because I need them to know that I exist! And I didn’t think it was going to happen… They had a show, I went to the show and at the end I walked outside and I happened to bump into them and we had a moment and we sang with each other. And that moment propelled me to say, leave no door unopen!
Dani: We have an actual star at Jigsaw Ealing! Teaching vocals to all of our 7-8 year old students, 9-11 year old students, and our eldest students that are 16 and making the decisions now about what they want to do with their career. Thank you so much, Mark. You are a star and I think I’m going to chain you to the Jigsaw Ealing doors so that we never lose you ever. Thank you.