CUMS Chorus: Who's Who?

Stephen Cleobury

Chorus Director

Stephen Cleobury has been Conductor of CUMS since 1983, and is a musician of international renown. Stephen is Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge, Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music, and is a past President of the Royal College of Organists. In the course of his freelance work, he has conducted many of the leading professional orchestras in the UK and elsewhere. He follows in the distinguished footsteps of Sir Charles Stanford, Boris Ord, Sir David Willcocks and Sir Philip Ledger, but is now the longest serving Conductor in The Society's history.

Under Stephen's direction, the orchestra has recently performed such works as Verdi's Requiem, Rachmaninov's The Bells, Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, Elgar's Violin Concerto, Mahler's Symphony no. 2, Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, Mahler's Symphony no. 8, Berlioz' Grande Messe des Morts, Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony and Beethoven's Egmont overture. Stephen has also led the Chorus through challenging, contemporary works such as Ferguson's The Dream of the Rood, Holloway's The Spacious Firmament, Simon Smith's Still and an "Opera Gala" which was one of a number of very successful concerts recorded live for CD.