Stephen William Barlow (born 30 June 1954) is an English conductor, principally of opera. He was appointed Artistic Director of the Buxton Festival in 2012. Barlow was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral before studying at King's School, Canterbury, then moving to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was an Organ Scholar. In 1986 he married the actress Joanna Lumley, with whom he lives in London. He composed the opera King, the story of Thomas Becket and Henry II of England, which had its World Premiere in Canterbury Cathedral in April 2006.