Sir Stephen John Cleobury ( ; 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. 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. Life Early years Stephen John Cleobury was born in Bromley, Kent, the son of John F. Cleobury and Brenda J. Randall. He sang as a chorister at Worcester Cathedral under Douglas Guest then Christopher Robinson. He was organ scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, under the musical directorship of George Guest, and sub-organist of Westminster Abbey before becoming the first Anglican master of music at the Catholic Westminster Cathedral in 1979. In the 1970s, he was head of music at both St Matthew's Church, Northampton, and Northampton Grammar School, where he taught music for four years. King's College, Cambridge In 1982 Cleobury succeeded Philip Ledger as Director of Music for the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where he also taught music. 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. Cleobury's most notable contribution was, from 1984, the incorporation of specially commissioned modern works to complement the traditional carols. Among the composers contributing were Thomas Adès, John Tavener and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Harrison Birtwistle's The Gleam, which requires the choristers to stamp their feet and shout, caused some controversy. The high-profile performance of these commissions allowed the widespread dissemination of sophisticated contemporary choral music. Cleobury introduced singing lessons for the choristers and expanded the repertoire to include more singing in Latin, and composers such as Kodály, Janácek and Arvo Pärt. He established the Festival of Easter at King's and also Concerts at King's, a concert series throughout the year. Recordings were made by the choir's own label beginning in 2012. He