![\"Violist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MIJ-L-MUSIC-COL-0305-02.jpg\")
Violist Alexandra Simpson performed with Green Day during the Super Bowl pregame show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8 (Courtesy of Alexandra Simpson)<\/p>\nAlexandra Simpson took the field at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8, Super Bowl Sunday. All her hard work and training had led up to this moment. She was ready to play \u2014 well, music, that is.<\/p>\n
Standing near 49ers legends Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Joe Montana, whom she grew up watching on TV with her dad, the violist performed with rock band Green Day during the Super Bowl opening ceremony that welcomed football legends to the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience was incredible,\u201d said Simpson, who serves as the music director of San Domenico School\u2019s Virtuoso Program \u2014 the program she was once a part of during her time at the school. \u201cI\u2019ve never performed at a Super Bowl and never thought I\u2019d get to go to one. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I\u2019ll tell my grandkids about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cherry on top was that she was able to share the experience with her friend, violinist Asuka Yanai, who she roomed with at San Domenico School. They would both go on to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. San Rafael resident Kevin Rogers, the conservatory\u2019s community engagement manager \u2014 a position he\u2019s held since 2021 \u2014 reached out to them about the opportunity.<\/p>\n
Through his work at the conservatory, Rogers, who graduated from the conservatory in 2011, manages several programs, including Hire San Francisco Conservatory of Music Musicians \u2014 where musicians can be hired for special events or occasions \u2014 and Conservatory Connect, which brings live music to schools, hospitals, retirement homes, children\u2019s facilities and other venues. Since he got there, he\u2019s been able to expand the conservatory\u2019s programming and give more opportunities to students and alumni, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have had this opportunity if it weren\u2019t for Kevin Rogers and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I was just really happy to be there. It was an amazing experience,\u201d Yanai said.<\/p>\n
Violinist Sarena Hsu, who also went through San Domenico School\u2019s Virtuoso Program, played with singer and musician Charlie Puth during his soulful rendition of the national anthem before the game.<\/p>\n
Violist Alexandra Simpson performed with Green Day during the Super Bowl pregame show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8 (Courtesy of Alexandra Simpson)<\/p>\n
Yanai and Simpson spent several days rehearsing with Green Day at the football stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so cool. They all chatted with us between run-throughs, asking about our instruments and connecting about growing up in the Bay Area. (Lead singer) Billie Joe Armstrong sang an impromptu \u2018My Way\u2019 with us between one of the run-throughs,\u201d said Simpson, who has also performed with pop star Sabrina Carpenter.<\/p>\n
For Yanai, who grew up listening to Green Day, it was a special experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know who we were going to be performing with until the day that we got to Levi\u2019s Stadium. But there were articles coming out that Green Day was playing, and my heart dropped. I was like, I hope it\u2019s Green Day. I\u2019m from Pinole, where they are from. It was really fun to talk about that. They were really nice,\u201d said Yanai, who has also performed with the Eagles, Michael Bubl\u00e9 and Josh Groban.<\/p>\n
And while Rogers was just supposed to be the middleman for the Super Bowl pregame show, when a violinist was unexpectedly unable to perform, he stepped in on short notice. Beyond performing with a legendary act, he was happy to see how happy his fellow musicians were around him and to watch alumni connect with and share their wisdom with students.<\/p>\n
For the performers, it meant a lot that the musical events showcased how much talent there is in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of great musicians here, and we should continue to support them,\u201d Yanai said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexandra Simpson took the field at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8, Super Bowl Sunday. All…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[329,7,967,971,9400,992,330,6682,180,993,266,88,90,89,11730,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-204858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-arts-and-entertainment","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-lifestyle","12":"tag-live-music","13":"tag-marin-county","14":"tag-music","15":"tag-music-and-concerts","16":"tag-newsletter","17":"tag-north-bay","18":"tag-northern-california","19":"tag-san-jose","20":"tag-san-jose-headlines","21":"tag-san-jose-news","22":"tag-super-bowl","23":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}