Sir Stephen John Cleobury CBE (/ˈkliːbəri/ KLEE-bər-ee; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019)[1][2] was an English organist and music director.

[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.

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.

[4] He led the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at the King's College Chapel on Christmas Eve, which was established in 1918 and broadcast live by the BBC from 1928.

[1] Cleobury's most notable contribution was, from 1984, the incorporation of specially commissioned modern works to complement the traditional carols.

[5] He was conductor of Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) from 1983 to 2009, and made many recordings with that group including Verdi's Quattro Pezzi Sacri and Goehr's The Death of Moses.

As part of the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of Cambridge University, he premiered Peter Maxwell Davies' The Sorcerer's Mirror.

[10] The latter was given at the King's College Chapel, and combined the world premiere of Thomas Simaku's The Scream with Hubert Parry's Songs of Farewell, and Duruflé's Notre Père and Requiem.