First published in the Nov. 17 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts recently announced that Vikki Sung has been named president of the organization for the 2022-23 year.
Sung has been an active member of Pasadena Showcase since 2012, and she was the first Asian American to serve as president of the organization, when she was previously elected in 2019-20. She has held numerous positions over the years, including benefit chair for the 2018 Pasadena Showcase House of Design and was part of the Benefit Committee Leadership Team for the 2022 Showcase House.
Sung said she is honored to be returning as president of the organization for a second time.
“We faced many challenges in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic so I am really excited to have the opportunity to lead this great organization into new territories,” she said.
As president, her mission remains to have everyone in the community connect the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, Pasadena Showcase’s primary fundraiser, with the many music and art programs the event funds.
“I want everyone who visits to know that this beautiful design house serves a purpose of raising money to support music in all its various ways in our community and to know that we are “more than just a pretty house,” Sung said.
Sung said she made that connection herself when she chaperoned her son’s 4th grade class 12 years ago to a Pasadena Showcase Youth Concert at Disney Hall.
“It was a real eye opening to see all that the Showcase House funds,” she said. “I didn’t know this beautiful design house was responsible for bringing these music programs to the community. Pasadena Showcase’s own three music programs, the Music Mobile, Youth Concert and Instrumental Competition hold special appeal to Sung.
“I think it’s very important for kids to be exposed to orchestra instruments and classical music,” she said. “It could lead to great things.”
Volunteerism has been a large part of Sung’s life for more than 20 years. She currently serves on the board of the Association of Major Symphony Orchestra volunteers. She is also a founding member of San Marino/Pasadena Philharmonic Committee, serves on the board of the L.A. Phil Affiliates and is a member of the San Marino Junior Alliance. Sung resides in Pasadena with her husband, Frank Hu.
Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization, has been supporting local music and arts programs since 1948. With the hard work and dedication of its 200-plus members, the organization raises funds from its major benefit, the Pasadena Showcase House of Design — one of the oldest, largest, and most successful house and garden tours in the country. Throughout its history, Pasadena Showcase has given more than $24 million to nonprofit organizations, particularly through its Gifts & Grants program, in support of music education, scholarships, concerts, and music therapy, while continuing to support the L.A. Phil and its learning programs for which the organization was first founded. Pasadena Showcase also nurtures the study and appreciation of music among young people with its three annual music programs: the Music Mobile TM, which has introduced orchestral instruments to more than 125,000 third grade students; the Instrumental Competition, which has awarded more than $650,000 in monetary prizes for exceptionally talented young musicians; and the Youth Concert, which has brought nearly 250,000 4th-graders to Walt Disney Concert Hall for exuberant performances presented by the L.A. Phil.
For more information, visit pasadenashowcase.org.
