Photos: James Duncan Davidson

“The TED Salon in Seoul was lit up by this performer, by her extraordinary passion for her music,” says TED curator Chris Anderson by way of introduction. He’s referring to the Talent Search auditions held in 14 cities around the world that provided the conference with 33 speakers this year. And in particular, he’s talking about Ji-Hae Park, who now takes the TED stage to wow us with her violin-based virtuosity. “Classical music can rock you!” she announces proudly.

Between songs, Ji-Hae talks about her own struggle with depression — and how she began to play music in churches, nursing homes, anywhere but the concert hall. “It set me free from the pressure of becoming a successful violinist,” she says — though she’s certainly become one of those too. As Chris says, her emotions come through in every note. “Do you feel like you’re all alone?,” she asks the audience. “I hope this piece will touch and heal your heart as it did for me.”

Here are the speakers in this session. Click their name to read a recap of their talk:

The explosive creative direction and choreography of Rich + Tone Talauega has been featured in tours and music videos of pop icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.

Elon Musk is the CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors and the CEO/CTO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).

Mary Lou Jepsen discovers astonishing ways to integrate digital screens into daily life.

At 14, Taylor Wilson became the youngest person to achieve fusion — with a reactor made in his garage. Now he wants to save our seaports from nuclear terror.

Violinist Ji-Hae Park shares the joy of music.

Since the counterculture peak of the 1960s, Stewart Brand has been reframing our view. Now, with biotech accelerating four times faster than digital technology, Stewart Brand has a bold new plan to share.