Allan Stephenson
Allan Stephenson (1949-2021) British-born cellist, conductor and composer.
Contents
Biography
Born in 1949 in the UK, Stephenson began playing the piano aged seven, and picked up the cello when he was 13. In 1968 he enrolled at the Royal Manchester College of Music, graduating in 1972. The next year he moved to South Africa where he became sub-principal cellist with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He also taught the cello at the South African College Schools, and was closely associated with the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he lectured in cello and composition, and directed the UCT College Orchestra.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
His own works included the operas Wonderfully Wicked, Who Killed Jimmy Valentine? and The Orphans of Qumbu, which has seen some 3,000 orphans of all races taking part. He also composed one act of writer/director Michael Williams’s Mandela Trilogy, which documented the three stages of Nelson Mandela’s life. He also arranged The Tales of Hoffmann, La traviata and Camille for Cape Town City Ballet, often taking on the conducting duties as well.
Sources
'Cellist and conductor Allan Stephenson has died.' The Strad. 3 August 2021.
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