Stephen Cleobury

Sir Stephen Cleobury
Cleobury in 2009
Born
Stephen John Cleobury

(1948-12-31)31 December 1948
Bromley, England
Died22 November 2019(2019-11-22) (aged 70)
York, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materSt John's College, Cambridge (organ scholar)
Occupations
  • Director of Music
  • Organist
Organizations
Spouses
Penny Holloway
(divorced)
Emma Disley
(m. 2004)
Children4
Parent(s)John Cleobury
Brenda Randall
RelativesNicholas Cleobury (brother)

Sir Stephen John Cleobury CBE (/ˈklbəri/ KLEE-bər-ee; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019)[1][2] was an English organist and music director. He worked with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where he served as music director from 1982 to 2019, and with the BBC Singers.[3]

During his long tenure at King's College, with the choir having performed a live broadcast on the BBC on Christmas Eve since 1928, he made the singers even better known by tours and recordings. From 1984 he introduced the commission of a new Christmas carol annually. Among many honours, he was honorary fellow of the Royal School of Church Music, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2009. In 2019, he was knighted for his contributions to choral music.

  1. ^ Sir Stephen Cleobury: Former King's College choir conductor dies aged 70 BBC 23 November 2019
  2. ^ "Sir Stephen Cleobury (1948–2019)". King's College, Cambridge. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Reign of King's", BBC Music Magazine (Christmas 2018 ed.), p. 38, 29 November 2018