It is a long way from a quiet music lesson to the center of the biggest sporting event in the United States. For Irene Giovannetti, a music teacher and graduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, that distance closed in an instant earlier this month.
Giovannetti, who teaches group piano classes and trumpet at CMC, stepped onto the field to perform during the Super Bowl National Anthem pre-game show.
“I was part of the trumpet section in the 12-member orchestra for the Super Bowl National Anthem pre-game performance,” says Giovannetti.
While Giovannetti is used to performing—she holds degrees from the Conservatory P. Mascagni in Livorno, Italy, and has toured across her home country—the sheer magnitude of the Super Bowl presents a different kind of pressure.
“It was incredibly exciting and a bit surreal. Walking onto that stage and hearing the energy of the stadium is something I won’t forget,” she recalls. “Once we started playing, everything narrowed down to the music—I focused on my part and stayed fully present.”
The performance put her side-by-side with some of the biggest names in the industry.
“I performed with the Color of Noize Orchestra alongside main artist Charlie Puth,” she says. “The orchestra was brought together specifically for this production, assembling musicians from a wide range of backgrounds. The performance also featured jazz saxophonist Kenny G, with Steve Hackman conducting and Adam Blackstone serving as musical director.”
Bringing the Experience Home
Giovannetti’s musical background is diverse. She began playing piano at eight and picked up the trumpet a few years later. While classically trained, she also grew up playing genres ranging from country rock to traditional Mexican music. Today, she balances her master’s studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with teaching students of all ages in English, Italian, and Spanish.
For her, the value of the Super Bowl gig wasn’t just the fame, but the lesson in professionalism she can now share with her students.
“The scale of the production really stands out—the coordination and how smoothly everything ran. The energy from the audience in the stadium was incredible and added to the intensity of the moment,” she says. “As a teacher, it was especially meaningful to experience something at that level and bring that perspective back to my students.”