On the beat
OBITUARIES
ALLAN STEPHENSON
South African cellist, conductor and composer Allan Stephenson has died aged 71. With more than 100 compositions in several genres to his name, he was well known in the South African classical music scene, having also founded the Cape Town Chamber Orchestra and run the I Musicanti string orchestra.
Born in 1949 in the UK, Stephenson began playing the piano aged 7, 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.