Stephanie Cant studied music at Sussex University majoring in performance, before continuing her studies at Goldsmiths’ College London University where she took an M.Mus. (Composition). During this period Stephanie studied the piano with Anne Auriol Pattman (a pupil of Walter Gieseking) and Peter Wallfisch (a pupil of Marguerite Long). She later also undertook a course of lessons with Eric Hope, formally Khopinski (a pupil of Solomon).

Beginning her career in Sussex, Stephanie worked as a composer and pianist for contemporary dance. Whilst working primarily in the context of higher education, she also worked with community groups and professional dancers. Compositions included Dress Piece for the group Dancework, performed at Alexandra Palace London, and Chimera Dance, a 50 minute multi –media work choreographed by Liz Aggis performed at the Sallis Benney Theatre in Brighton. In 1983 Stephanie was awarded a bursary by the Arts Council of Great Britain to learn Labanotation.

Stephanie then became a specialist music teacher in primary school. She turned her attention both to composing music for children notably the music for The Bad Tempered Ladybird, a dance drama performed at The Dome Brighton in 1985. She also focussed on inspiring children to compose their own music and in 1986, she received a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for work developing a computer-based composition/music literacy package for infants. During this period she was also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sussex School Of Education and at the same time contributed to the teaching of their PGCE courses in Primary Education and to the Language, Arts and Education MA. Subsequently she was a Senior Lecturer at what is now Chichester University.During this time she contributed articles to both Child Education and The British Journal of Music Education.

During the 1990s Stephanie composed a series of works in memory of her daughter Kate Cooper (1981-1991). These include Wedding Songs for solo piano, Suite in Ancient Style for cello and piano, and Variations on Kate’s Theme for recorder, cello and string orchestra, performed in Arundel Cathedral with Michala Petri recorder and Esther Ward-Caddle cello. The final composition in remembrance and Kate,Angelic Imagination, a chamber setting of the eponymous poems by Peter Abbs, is in preparation

For the past twenty years, Stephanie has combined part time freelance work as a pianist, composer and teacher with family and domestic responsibilities.

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