Justin Lavender (born 4 June 1951) is an operatic tenor, professor of vocal studies at the Royal College of Music and vocal consultant to the choirs of King's College, Cambridge and Canterbury Cathedral.He was educated at Bedford Modern School, Queen Mary's College London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Although he initially intended to train as a nuclear engineer he was persuaded by Sir Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten to pursue a career in music. Following his debut in 1980 as Nadir in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles at the Sydney Opera House, Lavender has performed with most of the world's major orchestras and opera companies. In addition to his operatic performances, Lavender is professor of vocal studies at the Royal College of Music, a visiting professor of the Confucius Institute at Pfeiffer University, a visiting tutor at the Birmingham Conservatoire and a vocal consultant to the choirs of Canterbury Cathedral and King's College, Cambridge.Lavender has recently co-founded a community opera company, Arcadian Opera, which performs regularly at Stowe School, Buckingham.