Ashlee Sung is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in violin performance and music composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.

She studies violin with Professor Lina Bahn and composition with Professor Andrew Norman and Professor Veronika Krausas. She started violin lessons at age 3 and studied violin with Ms. Sharon Harman at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music since 2019, where she was awarded the Roman Andrew Borek Scholarship in 2022. Ashlee acquired strong leadership skills while serving as Concertmaster of the Pasadena Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and Concertmaster/Lead Principal of the Arcadia High School Orchestras. She is also an award-winning violinist, having won first place in the Pasadena Rotary Dan Stover Competition (2021) and having been a finalist in the MTAC VOCE State Competition (2020) and the Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition (2022). Then, in 2024, she won the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, where she performed Saint Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with the PYSO Philharmonic, thus marking her debut as a soloist. Now, Ashlee performs in the USC Thornton Symphony, as well as various solo and chamber recitals. She also has had opportunities to venture out of the classical territory and play music of other genres, such as in pop concerts and film scoring sessions. She also teaches violin lessons to young students and is passionate about helping her students develop their skills as well as their love for music.

As for composition, Ashlee started writing music at age 8 and won first place in the PTA Reflections’ Music Composition category three times. In December 2022, she conducted her piece, “Mistletoe Berries” at the Arcadia High School Winter Concert, thus marking her debut as a composer and conductor. That same year, she joined the LA Philharmonic Composer Fellowship Program, studying with CFP teachers Andrew Norman, Daniel Allas, Sarah Gibson, Thomas Kotcheff, and Jordan Nelson. During her studies at CFP, her pieces were played by accomplished musicians including the Southeast Symphony, conducted by Anthony Parnther. In 2023, she won 3rd place in the MTAC Composers’ Today State Contest, and a year later, she was inducted into the MTAC Young Composer’s Guild for 2024-2029. Her first year at USC Thornton has brought Ashlee a range of opportunities to compose out of her comfort zone, as she explored both tonal and atonal worlds of classical music, as well as everything in between. She scored “Bath of Youth” an animation by Stella Chen, which marked the beginning to her film composing journey. She also took on hobbies for singing, songwriting, and producing her own music to release on Spotify.

Ashlee’s passion for music lies in many multitudes and she is constantly exploring. She plans to continue performing, teaching, and composing. Ashlee is a firm believer that keeping classical music alive is to let it evolve.

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