Chinese-American singer-songwriter and Berklee alumnus Wang Leehom ’99 will present a full scholarship in his name to a Berklee College of Music or Boston Conservatory at Berklee student entering in the fall of 2018. The award is designed for a talented and deserving musician from mainland China with a demonstrated potential to make a significant contribution to society through music. Applicants to the institution’s undergraduate program will be considered for the scholarship based on completing the admissions process.
Known as the King of Chinese Pop, Wang is the best-selling Mandarin-language musician of his generation, with millions of albums sold around the world. His songs combine contemporary and traditional Chinese music with pop, rock, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and classical, often introducing his listeners to these various forms for the first time. He is a recipient of multiple Golden Melody Awards (the Grammys of Taiwanese music) and is a cultural ambassador, bringing Chinese music to audiences around the globe.
In November 2016, Wang returned to Boston to perform in Berklee Presents the Music of Wang Leehom at Symphony Hall. During the concert, Berklee President Roger H. Brown bestowed an honorary doctorate of music upon Wang. “I am so humbled and excited to be here. Being back here on campus, I feel so proud to have studied here,” he said.
“Wang Leehom’s gifts are limitless. He is an artist whose talents are bound only by what he has yet to dream,” said President Brown. “Like many of our students, his artistry crosses borders, from writing and producing music to acting and championing humanitarian issues. His influence on contemporary music will expand even further through the virtuosity of the recipient of the Wang Leehom Scholarship.”