A more detailed biography is available here.
Stephen Barker (b. 1977) has been immersed in church music since an early age. First as a chorister, then as an organ scholar in Hampshire, Stephen read Music at Canterbury Christ Church University. While still a student, he was appointed Organist and Choirmaster at St Stephen’s Church, Canterbury and has built the music up to a standard which is now one of the highest in the South-East of England. Under Stephen’s direction they have sung in widely in cathedrals and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and 4. Stephen returned to studying part-time to complete a Masters in Church Music, specialising in research and choral conducting. Stephen is also Head of Music at a boys grammar school in Kent, teaching ages 11-18 and running a wide range of extra-curricular activities for the pupils.
As a composer, Stephen has had pieces performed in Westminster Abbey, Canterbury, Salisbury, Coventry and Blackburn Cathedrals in the UK, and in the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Houston, Texas, USA. His Canterbury Service has been used by church choirs across the UK.
Stephen’s skills as a choral director, especially of amateur choirs, and his work with the Royal School of Church Music has taken him across the South-East of England and Europe, conducting festivals and workshops in Canterbury, Brussels and Antwerp.
For more details about Stephen’s work, please see his website: www.sbarker.net
© Stephen Barker. Please ask for permission before reproducing this biography in any publication.