On February 9th, as more than 130 million viewers tuned in to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the Bay Area wasn’t just hosting a game, it was staging a cultural moment.
The halftime show, headlined by Bad Bunny and joined by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, fused spectacle with symbolism, unfolding in a vibrant, color-saturated tribute to Puerto Rico. And there, amid the choreography and the island-inspired visuals stood Rose Crelli, a San Francisco violinist whose ascent feels like a modern fairytale written in real time.
For Rose Crelli, that moment was not a lucky break. It was the result of a journey that began far from bright lights and broadcast cameras.
Violinist Rose Crelli(Courtesy of Rose Crelli)
Born in China and abandoned as a baby, Crelli spent the first eight months of her life in an orphanage before being adopted and brought to Alaska. She grew up first outside Fairbanks and later in Dawson City in Canada’s Yukon Territories, in what she describes as a “very off-the-grid” lifestyle. Crelli’s childhood unfolded in one-room log cabins without electricity, running water, internet, or television. Winters were long and unforgiving, and daily life revolved around dog mushing, camping, and husky teams. It was a rugged environment that required resilience from an early age.
Yet, even in that remote setting, music was constant.
Crelli began playing the violin because her older brother did, and what started as imitation became a family mission. In a cabin nearly 100 miles from the nearest town, lessons continued through ingenuity: their teacher recorded instructions, which Rose and her brother replayed on a battery-powered cassette or CD player while their mother accompanied them on a battery-powered piano.
When the family later moved to Dawson City, her mother drove ten hours once a month—sometimes over several days in minus-20- or minus-30-degree weather—so her children could study with a teacher. Those demanding journeys were acts of love. Long before major stages and national broadcasts, Crelli had already learned that perseverance, fueled by unwavering support, can carry you anywhere.
Crelli’s training was both classical and instinctive. Alongside the traditional repertoire, she studied fiddle and folk music, genres learned by ear rather than from sheet music. “Being trained in fiddle music at a young age really shaped my ability to play by ear,” she says. That skill would later allow her to move seamlessly between R&B, hip-hop, Latin pop, and classical arrangements.
Crelli is often hired to play at events around the Bay Area(Courtesy of Rose Crelli)
Crelli’s academic résumé is formidable: dual bachelor’s degrees in music education and violin performance from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a master’s degree from the University of Louisville. In August 2020, Crelli moved to San Francisco knowing no one to pursue postgraduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. But since the pandemic had shuttered performance spaces and her conservatory program would be entirely online, she deferred. “I wanted to do it in person,” she says.
Instead of waiting for the world to reopen, Crelli started building her own stage.
She worked as a nanny and convinced the family who employed her to let her teach their six-year-old to play violin, piano, and drums. In January 2021, she walked her neighborhood for four days, posting flyers for violin lessons on telephone poles and handing out cards to local businesses.
“I think I walked like 20 miles,” she recalls. The result? About 15 students and a steady stream of work. An unexpected twist came through Clubhouse, the audio-only social media platform that briefly defined pandemic-era connection. Performing live in virtual rooms, listeners began booking Crelli for conferences and private celebrations. Sensing momentum, she invested in an electric violin and shifted toward performing full time.
The Bay Area took notice. A video she posted using the hashtag #BayAreaEvents caught the attention of the Golden State Warriors. At first, she assumed the invitation to perform at Chase Center was a scam. It wasn’t. That booking opened the door to others. Soon, she was playing for the Warriors and the Giants, performing at corporate events for Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Meta, and Google, and accompanying renowned artists such as world-class opera singer Andrea Bocelli.
Crelli on the field at Super Bowl LX(Courtesy of Rose Crelli)
Then came the email in early December 2025 asking about her availability for a potential Super Bowl halftime show. She suspected it might be connected to Bad Bunny, who had been announced as the headliner, but she refused to celebrate prematurely. “At first I thought it was too good to be true,” she says.
Rehearsals began with Bad Bunny in Los Angeles, followed by a week in Santa Clara where every camera cue and musical entrance was mapped with precision. On game day, Crelli woke up early, too excited to sleep. Yet what she remembers most vividly is the backstage atmosphere. “The energy was super excited and positive,” she says, as performers spoke about what the moment meant to their families and to their heritage.
In a CNN interview after the show, Rose Crelli reflected on its broader significance. “I feel like the Super Bowl halftime show was a beautiful expression of ‘no,’” she said, referring to the fear some feel about expressing their heritage or being bilingual. “Instead, we can celebrate our heritage, our culture, the fact that we might be immigrants. That’s not something to be ashamed of or to hide. That is something to celebrate because I believe that is what makes America a beautiful place. As a naturalized citizen and adoptee from China, I consider myself an immigrant in a way. And it was just so meaningful to be a part of this show.”
San Francisco is not merely the backdrop to her success. It is now home. Crelli loves the city’s walkability, its parks, and the ability to start at Alamo Square and end at Ocean Beach. She frequents Hayes Valley, often dining at A Mano (450 Hayes St.), and enjoys evenings at Starlite in Union Square (450 Powell St.) or Left Door in the Marina (1905 Union St.). On weekends, she hikes the Marin Headlands or heads to Pinnacles National Park, reconnecting with the wilderness that shaped her childhood.
From a one-room cabin in the Yukon to the most-watched stage in America, Rose Crelli’s path has been built on resilience, adaptability, and belief. Her story is proof that, in San Francisco at least, the American dream is still alive.
// Find Rose Crelli on Instagram @frozenfiddlerose or rosecrelliviolin.com
