Stephen Cleobury

Sir Stephen John Cleobury ( KLEE-bər-ee; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019) 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. 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. He introduced the commission of new compositions for them, inclduing from 1984 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.