This is Private Culture - Private conversations about all things Culture. In this episode of Private Culture, host Ingrid Paskell is in "Deepest Darkest Croydon", South London — in the studio of vocal coach, choir director, and arranger Mark Delissa. Seated in his working space where the floor, as he puts it, holds a million tears, they explore the inner world of the voice — what it carries, what it reveals, and what it takes to truly hear another person. Mark has spent over two decades shaping some of the most recognised voices in music, from his years at the Brit School — where a teenage Jessie J would be waiting outside his door after lunch every week — to the moment he arranged Stand By Me for Harry and Meghan's royal wedding, going through thirteen versions before landing on something so simple it moved the world. This conversation is part origin story, part masterclass, part confession. Mark traces his obsession with the voice back to a Friday night when he was seven years old, dragged to his dad's male voice choir rehearsal in South London and utterly transfixed by a conductor pulling sounds out of a room full of men. From Brixton Church harmonies to Central School of Speech and Drama — enrolled without an undergraduate degree — to the Brit School, the King's Coronation, and ITV's The Masked Singer, the throughline is always the same: he's not interested in being the voice. He's interested in yours. There are vulnerable moments here — Mark opens up about the self-doubt that never leaves, the external validation he still searches for after every performance, and the therapy it's taken to sit with it. There is also joy, deep knowledge, and a forensic curiosity about human beings that makes him as compelling to listen to as the singers he shapes. Mark Delissa is the founder of community choir Synology, director of the Mark Delissa Singers, and one of the most sought-after vocal coaches and arrangers working today. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Follow Mark : Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/markdelisser/ Singology Choir : https://www.singologychoir.com/mark Follow Ingrid Paskell: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingrid.paskell/ Follow Private Culture : Instagramm: https://www.instagram.com/private__culture/ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Credits Host: Ingrid Paskell Guest: Mark Delissa Creative Director: Simon Søby Sound Design & Edit: Carsten Sherpa, Simon Søby Music: Giordano Léon Makholm Art Work: Peter Westh Producer: Ingrid Paskell, Simon Søby Presented by: North Node Who should be the next guest? Reach out and share your recommendations for future guests. Subscribe and follow to never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with someone who should hear it.
