Stephen Wilkinson, MBE (born 1919) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 choral conductor.

As a boy, he was a chorister at Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

, and studied English and music at the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

. He was organ scholar of Queens' College, and studied the harpsichord with Boris Ord

Boris Ord

Boris Ord , born Bernhard Ord, was an English organist, composer and musical director best known as the choir master of King's College, Cambridge....

 and singing with George Parker

George Parker

George Parker may refer to:*Sir George Parker, 2nd Baronet , English politician, MP* George C. Parker , American fraudster* George Parker , South African cricketer...

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, and was mentioned in despatches "for courage and undaunted devotion to duty" in August 1944.

From 1951-2, Wilkinson was director of the Hertfordshire Rural Music School, and in 1953 was appointed to the staff of the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. He became conductor of the BBC Northern Singers in 1962, and remained in this role for forty years, directing them five times at The Proms

The Proms

The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...

.
He also directed the William Byrd Singers, with whom he was closely associated from their formation in 1970, together with their companion string ensemble Capriccio, founded in 1991. Composers such as John McCabe

John McCabe (composer)

John McCabe CBE is an English composer and pianist.- Biography :John McCabe was born in Huyton, Liverpool, Merseyside. A prolific composer from an early age, he had written thirteen symphonies by the time he was eleven...

 have dedicated works to Wilkinson. He was appointed MBE

MBE

MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...

in 1992 for services to choral music.

Wilkinson retired from conducting the William Byrd Singers in May 2009 at the age of 90, after 39 years.