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As Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge and Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury is associated with two of Britain’s outstanding choirs.
King’s College Choir was founded in the 1440s by King Henry VI. The world-wide reputation it enjoys today has grown from the annua
As Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge and Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury is associated with two of Britain’s outstanding choirs.
King’s College Choir was founded in the 1440s by King Henry VI. The world-wide reputation it enjoys today has grown from the annual broadcast on Christmas Eve of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which is heard by a radio audience estimated at tens of millions; from its countless recordings for EMI, Decca and other labels and from its international touring programme.
Under Stephen Cleobury’s direction the choir has maintained the highest standards of musical excellence and continues to broaden its repertoire, commissioning new works and performing baroque and classical works with period-instrument orchestras. In its concert appearances and on disc, the choir appears with most of the major London orchestras and with many distinguished solo singers. In recent years Stephen Cleobury and King’s College Choir have established a fruitful relationship with The Brandenburg Consort.
The BBC Singers, Britain’s only full-time professional choir, recently celebrated their 70th birthday. Their versatility and virtuosity are legendary. In particular, their expertise in 20th century music has attracted plaudits from contemporary composers such as Berio, Boulez, Henze and Maxwell Davies.
Stephen Cleobury’s work with the BBC Singers ranges over a broad spectrum of repertoire. He has recorded CDs of Bach, Charles Ives, Richard Strauss and Giles Swayne with the group, and regularly appears in London’s concert halls with the Singers. He has recently premiered works by Swayne, Weir and Holloway with the group.
Stephen Cleobury is also Conductor of the orchestra and chorus of the Cambridge University Musical Society, and much in demand as a conductor and organ recitalist. He teaches at King's College and at the Royal College of Music, where he is a Fellow and Visiting Professor. He has served as President of the Royal College of Organists, and sits on the Council of the Royal School of Church Music.