Wen-Pin Hope Lee
Encyclopedia
Wen-Pin Hope Lee （1967- ） is a Taiwan
ese composer
. His works comprise a variety of genres, including symphonies
, theatre
, dance
, solo
works, chamber music
, computer music
, and multimedia
performance art
. In 2004 he began his Taiwan Series of compositions: a body of work inspired by Taiwanese culture, including aboriginal and Hakka melodies, sung texts in Taiwanese
, and the ambient sounds of Taiwan locales. Lee is the winner of the 2006 Golden Melody Award
for Best Composer of Traditional and Artistic Music and a nominee for the 2007 Golden Melody Award
for his recording of his five-act theatre dance piece Hsiahai City God through Water of Mengjia.
Hope Lee resides in Taipei, where he teaches composition
at his alma mater, the National Taiwan Normal University
. He also serves on the music faculty at the National Taichung University
and is active in the leadership of two ensembles in Taipei, the Sonare Symphony Orchestra and Music Dimensions.
. His teachers in Boston
were Lukas Foss
, Theodore Antoniou
and Marjorie Merryman
. Lee was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts
degree in composition in 1999.
Upon his return to Taiwan Lee was appointed to the composition faculty at the National Taiwan Normal University
, where he also serves as director of the Digital Media Center Music Interactive Laboratory. He also teaches music at the National Taichung University
and the Affiliated Senior High School of NTNU. He is active as the artistic director of the Sonare Symphony Orchestra and as executive of Music Dimensions, an ensemble devoted to the performance of new Taiwanese music.
Series:
using the techniques of digital virtual music theater; The Ghost Arrives!, a music theater piece using digital images; and Fabric Legend from the Taiwanese Legend Series, a music theater piece encompassing elements of literature
, folk tale, drama
, dance
, and interactive images. Feint-and-Parry Misdirect, from the Taiwanese Nursery Rhyme Series, incorporates elements of children’s literature, computer music, and interactive images in a work of image-interactive virtual musical theater; the piece is scored for voices, prepared piano
with amplication effects, and percussion quartet
.
Print
Lee's autobiography has been published in book form in a collection entitled Discovering Formosa: Taiwanese Contemporary Composers.
Lee regularly publishes scholarly research and presents lectures as well as compositions. The topics usually relate to his creative work, as when the ArtsIT 2009 Conference in Taiwan featured him in a panel discussion of "An Interactive Concert Program Based on Infrared Watermark and Audio Synthesis."
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. His works comprise a variety of genres, including symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
works, chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, computer music
Computer music
Computer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
, and multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
. In 2004 he began his Taiwan Series of compositions: a body of work inspired by Taiwanese culture, including aboriginal and Hakka melodies, sung texts in Taiwanese
Taiwanese language
Taiwanese language may refer to* Most commonly** Taiwanese Hokkien, spoken by about 70% of the population of Taiwan* Also** One of the Languages of Taiwan** One of the indigenous Formosan languages spoken in Taiwan...
, and the ambient sounds of Taiwan locales. Lee is the winner of the 2006 Golden Melody Award
Golden Melody Award
The Golden Melody Awards is an annual Taiwanese music award, founded in 1990, presented by Government Information Office , Republic of China. It is usually presented in May, June or July each year and presented for music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, other Chinese dialects, and Taiwn's aboriginal...
for Best Composer of Traditional and Artistic Music and a nominee for the 2007 Golden Melody Award
Golden Melody Award
The Golden Melody Awards is an annual Taiwanese music award, founded in 1990, presented by Government Information Office , Republic of China. It is usually presented in May, June or July each year and presented for music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, other Chinese dialects, and Taiwn's aboriginal...
for his recording of his five-act theatre dance piece Hsiahai City God through Water of Mengjia.
Hope Lee resides in Taipei, where he teaches composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at his alma mater, the National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University is an institution of higher learning operating on three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan . NTNU is widely recognized as one of Taiwan's elite institutions of higher education. The university enrolls approximately 11,000 students each year. The ratio of undergraduate to...
. He also serves on the music faculty at the National Taichung University
National Taichung University
-The Locals’ Best, The Nation’s Leading, And The World’s Famous University:National Taichung University of Education is a university with proud legacy...
and is active in the leadership of two ensembles in Taipei, the Sonare Symphony Orchestra and Music Dimensions.
Training
Hope Lee first experiences with music were as a child under the tutelage of pianist Chiu-chin Lai (賴秋鏡). At the age of 17 he began studies in composition and music theory with Prof. Chin-yow Lin (林進祐). He entered the bachelor's program at the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) the following year; his teachers were Shing-kwei Tzeng (曾興魁), Mao-shuen Chen (陳茂萱) and Shu-shi Chen (陳樹熙). Upon graduation Lee moved to America for graduate studies in composition and music theory at the Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. His teachers in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
were Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
, Theodore Antoniou
Theodore Antoniou
Theodore Antoniou , is a Greek composer and conductor. His works vary from operas and choral works to chamber music, from film and theatre music to solo instrumental works. In addition to his career as composer and conductor, he also holds the position of professor of composition at Boston University...
and Marjorie Merryman
Marjorie Merryman
Marjorie Merryman is an American composer, author, and music educator. Currently, she is Dean of Academic Affairs at the Manhattan School of Music, where she is also a member of the composition faculty...
. Lee was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts
Doctor of Musical Arts
The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...
degree in composition in 1999.
Upon his return to Taiwan Lee was appointed to the composition faculty at the National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University is an institution of higher learning operating on three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan . NTNU is widely recognized as one of Taiwan's elite institutions of higher education. The university enrolls approximately 11,000 students each year. The ratio of undergraduate to...
, where he also serves as director of the Digital Media Center Music Interactive Laboratory. He also teaches music at the National Taichung University
National Taichung University
-The Locals’ Best, The Nation’s Leading, And The World’s Famous University:National Taichung University of Education is a university with proud legacy...
and the Affiliated Senior High School of NTNU. He is active as the artistic director of the Sonare Symphony Orchestra and as executive of Music Dimensions, an ensemble devoted to the performance of new Taiwanese music.
Representative Works
Recent representative works by Hope Lee include the following composition in the TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Series:
Orchestral Music
- Taiwan March: Five Orchestral Pieces (2009)
- - commissioned for the 21st Summer DeaflympicsDeaflympicsThe Deaflympics are an International Olympic Committee -sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level...
, Taipei
- Summit Images, Taiwan for the concert series Taiwan’s Mountains and Countryside (2008)
- - commissioned for the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs and National Culture and Arts Foundation
- My Hometown In Our Homeland: Nine Tones and Eighteen Tunes (2008) for the Taiwan Series: OrchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
- Tunes from Various Regions of Hakka in Taiwan Inspired by Six Hakka Folk Tunes: ConcertoConcertoA concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for Solo ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and OrchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
(2007) - - commissioned for the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs
- My Hometown in Our Homeland: Scenes of Lugang (2007)
- - commissioned for the National Culture and Art Foundation
- Mahakaruna Dharani: Symphonic PoemSymphonic poemA symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
for Mixed Chorus with Soloists and Orchestra (2005) - - commissioned for the Dharma Drum MountainDharma Drum MountainDharma Drum Mountain is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Ch'an Master Sheng-yen. The international headquarters of this organization is located at Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan .Dharma Drum Mountain is one of the most...
Foundation
Chamber Music
- Three Ballads by Taiwanese AboriginesTaiwanese aboriginesTaiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
: SonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
No. 1 for ViolaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(2007)
- Six HakkaHakka peopleThe Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
Folk Tunes for Quartet: ClarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, Violoncello and PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(2007)
- Six Fu-Lao Folk Tunes for Violoncello Duet (2006)
- Taiwan is the Formosa: Six Fu-Lao Folk Tunes for Violoncello Quartet (2006)
- - Winner, 2006 Golden Melody AwardGolden Melody AwardThe Golden Melody Awards is an annual Taiwanese music award, founded in 1990, presented by Government Information Office , Republic of China. It is usually presented in May, June or July each year and presented for music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, other Chinese dialects, and Taiwn's aboriginal...
for Best Composer of Traditional and Art Music.
- Water of the Field in June: Six Fu-Lao Folk Tunes for Solo Violin and Strings (2005)
- Three Scenes of the Pei-Gang: Three Fu-Lao Folk Tunes for Violin and Violoncello (2005)
Dance Music
- All Rise when the Wind Blows: a Dance Drama in One Act (2005)
- - commissioned by the TaichungTaichung-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
National Physical EducationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
Academy
- The GhostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
Arrives!: A Dance Drama in Four Acts (2005) - - commissioned by the Culture Development Foundation Committee
- Hsiahai City God through Water of Mengjia: a digitalDigitalA digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
music theater piece in five acts (2006) - - nominated for the 2007 Golden Melody AwardGolden Melody AwardThe Golden Melody Awards is an annual Taiwanese music award, founded in 1990, presented by Government Information Office , Republic of China. It is usually presented in May, June or July each year and presented for music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, other Chinese dialects, and Taiwn's aboriginal...
for Best Album Producer and Best Performance
Digital Arts
In recent years Wen-Pin Hope Lee has turned his attention to collaborative works employing digital arts. Works that have resulted from this include: Association of Raindrops, Transformation and Interaction, a depiction of ecological systems in Taiwan; Dimensions, a visualisation of religious ritesReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
using the techniques of digital virtual music theater; The Ghost Arrives!, a music theater piece using digital images; and Fabric Legend from the Taiwanese Legend Series, a music theater piece encompassing elements of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, folk tale, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, and interactive images. Feint-and-Parry Misdirect, from the Taiwanese Nursery Rhyme Series, incorporates elements of children’s literature, computer music, and interactive images in a work of image-interactive virtual musical theater; the piece is scored for voices, prepared piano
Prepared piano
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
with amplication effects, and percussion quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
.
Lee regularly publishes scholarly research and presents lectures as well as compositions. The topics usually relate to his creative work, as when the ArtsIT 2009 Conference in Taiwan featured him in a panel discussion of "An Interactive Concert Program Based on Infrared Watermark and Audio Synthesis."
Recordings
- Audio CD: Adventures of Four Cellos (2006). Produced by Ling-yi Ouyang. Includes Taiwan is the Formosa: Six Cello Quartets of Fu Lao Folk Tunes. Winner of the 2006 Golden Melody AwardGolden Melody AwardThe Golden Melody Awards is an annual Taiwanese music award, founded in 1990, presented by Government Information Office , Republic of China. It is usually presented in May, June or July each year and presented for music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, other Chinese dialects, and Taiwn's aboriginal...
.
- Audio CD, Video DVD: The Banga City God (2007). Nominated for 2007 Golden Melody Award for Best Album Producer for Traditional and Art Music.
- Audio CD: Telltale: Beginning with Formosa. Includes Taiwanese Melodies: Six Piano Quartets from Fu Lao Folk Tunes.