Joe Brent, a DMA student, in the Hodgson School of Music, traveled to San Francisco last week to sing the national anthem at AT&T park before the Giants-Nationals game.
A talented tenor who has sung principal roles in many UGA opera productions, Brent is a member of the first-ever graduating class of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, New York. Founded by world-renowned entertainer Tony Bennett, and his wife Susan Benedetto, to honor the late Sinatra. The school offers many opportunites for its students, even after graduation. Bennett's Exploring the Arts program, which helps provide funding for the school and scholarships for the students, connected Brent with the San Francisco Giants.
"The event went really well," Brent reported. "40,000 people were screaming and the SF Giants staff expressed sincere gratitude.""They brought me to the Tony Bennett suite, where I stayed with members of the Sinatra family/estate and it was all surreal. Then, if it couldn't be any more amazing, Willie Mays walked in and signed baseballs for all of us in the suite. I left San Francisco with an open invitation to return to AT&T Park anytime as a guest of the SF Giants!"
Now there's your amazing student.