What the Arts Mean to Us
A heartfelt lecture held by the Music Society of SUNY Geneseo
Photo courtesy of Web Editor, Rachel Turner
The e-board of the Music Society pictured from left to right: DEI Coordinator, Rick Ruiz; Personal Relations Hannah Lieberman—senior voice performance major; Secretary, Audrey Ryan—senior sociomedical sciences major; Vice President, Ryan Hyzy—senior trumpet performance and history adolescent education major; Community Outreach, Katie Penna—sophomore music performance and English literature major and women’s and gender studies minor; Treasurer, Jolie Eugenio—sophomore neuroscience and musicology major; and President, James Cortes.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, the Music Society of SUNY Geneseo held a student-led presentation titled, “What the Arts Mean to Us: A guided discussion of our performing arts community.” This hour-long discussion was moderated by student President James Cortes (‘27), accompanied by Vice President Ryan Hyzy (‘26) and Community Outreach Katie Penna (‘28). The rest of the executive board (e-board) was in attendance, along with many students and faculty, forming a robust and dynamic three-part discussion.
To begin the discussion, these student representatives of the Music Society started with the power of the arts. They observed how the arts build community: people can find their identity and sense of self through their chosen expressive outlet. This conversation began with a short video compiled by Penna, a music performance and English literature double major with a minor in women’s and gender studies. Those gathered discussed the emotional weight of a horn solo in the video—created by the composer Tchaikovsky—which sparked a conversation on parties coming together, creating sound together, and melding their shared ideas into art.
Following this robust introduction, the student attendees shared their experiences with the arts at Geneseo, many of whom explained why they chose to continue their education at Geneseo. Many of the students mentioned Geneseo’s strong, welcoming community, and one student cited the “sense of together[ness] across the whole [Department for the] Performing Arts,” even with the competitive nature typically found within the arts. This conversation heavily centered on the community behind the arts, and how through mutual aid and understanding, students, faculty, and anyone willing can share in the art of performance.
There was a resounding agreement on an aspect that is not entirely unique to Geneseo, but is nevertheless a defining feature: the ability to participate in the Department for the Performing Arts regardless of what you are studying. Anyone can audition, even if their major is in a different department, though many at the event were music performance majors. One student stated that it is a “smaller department, but there’s a spot for everyone.” Dr. Anthony LaLena, an Assistant Professor of Musicology, echoed this sentiment and said that there is “a lot of value that we have in the department here.” He emphasized that Geneseo is special because students can meet people in other majors through their shared involvement in the department, speaking positively about the “intellectual curiosity” that this community fosters. Additionally, he stated that this curiosity “reflects on the flexibility of the department” —anyone can perform and live out their artistic passions.
Continuing the conversation around the arts at Geneseo, Hyzy, a trumpet performance and history adolescent education double major, commented on how students feel seen and supported by the arts and their endeavors at Geneseo. During this portion, students emphasized the wide range of opportunities available to them through the department, as well as related clubs focused on performing arts or those in the fine arts.
Dr. Gerard Floriano, Distinguished Service Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, spoke about how student clubs exist because “people want to be there, want to stay there…because they recognize what they’re doing is important.” This was affirmed by Cortes, who stated “if you can think of something to do, you can do it” on campus if you get a group of people together, citing a fellow member’s newfound club, Flute Choir, as an example.
During this portion of the discussion, one student recalled that they were encouraged to double major rather than switch from their first major to something only within the Department for the Performing Arts. They stated that the department is willing to work with students, allowing them to take the classes they want through waivers, thereby crafting their own paths. By embracing the interdisciplinary, students in the department build connections among themselves and with professors, providing flexibility and collaboration.
While students agreed on the strong community shaped by the arts in Geneseo, this discussion also addressed whether the arts feel heard at Geneseo. Many students expressed their disappointment in the lack of attendance, respect, and awareness across other departments within the college. One student recounted an experience they had with their advisor outside of the Department for the Performing Arts, and another with students outside the discipline, saying that no one sees the value in these majors. When asking their advisor where they can find the department, their advisor directed them to Doty Hall, saying they “think [it is] somewhere in there.” The Department for the Performing Arts is located in room 101 in Brodie Hall, which is information available on their website. This conversation punctuated a running undertone of the conversation: arts, performing or fine, receive a lack of respect—a reflection of a society in which, as Dr. Floriano pointed out, the “arts aren’t valued.”
Overall, student attendees wished there were more awareness about the arts at Geneseo. Students said, “People don’t know that we are here,” and another stated, “Everyone has to take a class in the ISC, Welles [Hall]...not everyone has to take one in Brodie Hall.” They understand that the lack of awareness can be as simple as individuals being busy or genuine lack of knowledge, but those in attendance agreed that there should be a way to learn. One student stated that it is hard to believe Geneseo’s label as an “equity-centered, public honors college” when sitting in what one student described as “underfunded, underappreciated, and underutilized departments.” Another urged that there should be “equitable respect of departments.”
In sum, these comments illuminated a reality known to many involved with the arts: only through coming together can we begin to chart a way forward, both in colleges and universities and beyond.
The conversation crescendoed with questions on the future of the arts in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Those in the discussion mentioned that AI is making other disciplines feel less human, but wondered if as this happens, “Will we start to gravitate towards something more human?” though disclosing that no one “can think of anything more human than art.” This then turned to a conversation about keeping art central to politics, articulating that access to art is essential for an informed society. On this note, Dr. Floriano issued a call to action: “Be politically active, make your voices heard wherever you are…it is our responsibility because no one will do it for us.”
This discussion held by the Music Society of SUNY Geneseo was an exemplar showing of the community cultivated around the arts on campus. Those gathered acted as a testament to the importance of student involvement in an era where censorship and defunding of arts is on the rise.