~ B!o9R@phy-Lee Hom ~

Lee Hom (Alexander) Wang, was born in Rochester, New York. He studied music at Williams College and the Berklee College of Music. Hailing from Williams College, a liberal-arts college in Massachusetts, Lee Hom furthered his education at Berklee with (Jazz Piano & Composition). He has become one of the many new songwriters and musicians revolutionizing the Chinese music industry. He is active in all areas of musical production, from composing to producing, to arranging pieces, to writing lyrics (although he did not learn to speak Chinese until he was 18), to playing instrumental accompaniments, to directing his own music videos.

Lee Hom comes from a high pedigree of academics; his father is a pediatrician, his brother is a doctor now residing in Chicago, his younger brother is a student at MIT, and most of his relatives are doctors. Like much of his family, Lee-Hom had considered pursuing a medical career. Having been high school valedictorian and receiving a 1600 on the SATs, he was accepted into Princeton and Yale. However, at the last minute Lee Hom realized his true passion was for music. Amidst criticism from his family, Lee Hom decided to attend Williams College to pursue his dream to become a musician. Although this decision was unconventional, Lee Hom was willing to take this risk and his choice has proven to be a wise one. By combining western music with classical Chinese instruments, Lee Hom has given a unique twist to Chinese music. Having eleven Mandarin albums to his credit, Lee Hom has yet to produce an English album but remains as one of the main songwriters/producers for Sony Music Taiwan. He also owns Homeboy Studios both in Taiwan and Boston.

On his tenth album, Shangri-La, Lee Hom incorporated the often unheard music of the minorities of China into a style he coined "chinked out". He experimented with the tribal sounds of China, Tibet, and Mongolia; traveling the area carrying 15 kg of equipment while fighting bouts of altitude and food sickness. His next album will be released on 31 Dec 2005, and he has infused elements of Beijing opera into the songs, continuing the "chinked out" spirit. Not much about Lee Hom's personal life is known, much to his credit. Unlike many of his Eastern and Western counterparts, Lee Hom has kept his private life to himself and his dignity intact - he is a musician first and foremost. Lee Hom is quoted as saying, "Rumours don't bother me much now, although it's still annoying at times because it isn't true. I just don't want to come out and make the news bigger. I do music and I want to focus all my energy on this and have no desire to use tabloids to promote myself. I don't want to waste my energy holding press conferences to deny my relationship with certain people or to say that I am not gay because it's just not in my interest." It is this aspect of Lee Hom's character that many fans respect. His work has influenced recording artist and fellow Rochestarian Del Rivers.