Hannah Kim

Artist, Educator/Teacher, Entrepreneur

Hannah Kim is a classically trained soprano who toured with Andrea Bocelli on his West Coast run, performing in some of the largest, most prestigious U.S. venues. A TEDx speaker and international best-selling author of Brave and Brilliant, she shares how music and compassion transformed lives in prisons, youth detention centers, and halfway houses. Internationally, she made her debut in the title role of La Belle Hélène in Périgueux, France, and has since performed as a featured soloist and recitalist in Seoul, Korea. Her stage credits include Little Women, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Die Zauberflöte, Candide, The Yeomen of the Guard, Suor Angelica, and Madama Butterfly, among others.

Building bridges across divides to humanize the “other.”

Hannah Kim’s TEDx talk, “What singing classical music in prisons taught me,” shares how performing for people in prisons, youth detention centers, and reentry settings shattered her assumptions and revealed the power of music to restore dignity. She describes moments of unexpected connection—audiences leaning in, tears, and conversations—that showed classical music can bridge fear, stigma, and separation. Kim argues that vulnerability is a superpower for both artist and listener, inviting us to meet people where they are and to see the human being before the label. She closes by urging communities to bring art into overlooked places so compassion—and possibility—can take root.

Coaching speakers