Charles Stewart was born in Edinburgh and from an early age singing and choral music were at the heart of his musical interests. He was a Choral Scholar at St John's College Cambridge, under the direction of Dr George Guest. He also won a post-graduate scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.
In 1977 Charles began a ten-year connection with the Monteverdi Choir, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, in concerts, broadcasts and recordings. Solo performances included the Festivals of Edinburgh, Bruges, Göttingen, Innsbrück, Flanders and the City of London, and in Berlin, Stuttgart, Rome, Paris, and the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. He also sang with the BBC Singers, and made a number of oratorio appearances throughout Britain. Since being ordained in 1987, Charles has continued to be closely involved in music, and while Precentor of Winchester Cathedral commissioned music from James MacMillan, Judith Bingham, John Tavener, Andrew Simpson and Francis Pott.
In the summer of 2002 he was appointed conductor of Southern Voices. Since then he has directed Southern Voices in a wide and ever-expanding repertoire of music. Highlights have included Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil (Vespers) and Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Bach’s Mass in B minor and St John Passion, Mozart's Mass in C minor, and Eric Whitacre’s When David heard.