The Sterndale Singers began on Sunday 18th September 1977, when a small group of singers met for the first time at Millhouses Methodist Church, under the leadership of Arthur Robson and Vivien Fisher. The name 'Sterndale Singers' evolved over a post-rehearsal drink some time later; Sterndale Road was nearby and members knew of William Sterndale Bennett's Sheffield connections.

Mainly singing madrigals and other music suitable for small choirs, the choir's concert schedule quickly grew, with engagements at Sheffield Cathedral, Beverley Minster, Ripon Cathedral and numerous other venues in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. James Wild took over from Arthur Robson in 1982. Under his direction, the membership gradually rose to its present level of just over thirty singers, allowing the choir to perform larger works on occasions and enhance its musical reputation.

In 1992, Elisabeth Jill Wild succeeded her father as musical director. She continued to develop the choir's repertoire of accompanied and unaccompanied work, returning regularly to familiar venues and maintaining the high standards set by her father. 

Richard Roddis took over the musical directorship of the choir in January 1999 and the choir continued to flourish under his direction. In addition to furthering the strong Sterndale concert tradition, he conducted a highly successful joint concert with his Nottingham choir, Sinfonia Chorale, in Sheffield Cathedral. This concert included 'Figure Humaine' by Poulenc and 'Spem in Alium' by Tallis. In his final concert in July 2004, the choir performed Bernstein's 'Chichester Psalms', Britten's 'Rejoice in the Lamb' and Bach's 'Lobet den Herrn'.

Robert Webb, who has directed the choir since September 2004, conducted his inaugural concert in St. John's, Ranmoor, featuring Requiems by Duruflé and Rutter. Since then, the choir has sung works ranging from Purcell and Monteverdi to Finzi, Britten and Howells. For Easter 2006, the choir joined forces with players from Sheffield's recently formed Ensemble 360 to perform J S Bach's St John Passion, which received high praise from the large audience.

The choir is currently planning to revive its earlier custom of travelling abroad to sing, by arranging a visit to South-West France in August 2007. The Sterndale Singers continue to enjoy not only an excellent standard of music making, but also the pleasure, excitement and friendship which are part of singing in a choir.