In today’s world of constant competition and increasing technology, the value of the arts is often forgotten, but there are still people who see their worth.

Senior Katie Dobberpuhl, a pianist, singer, and painter, is one of these individuals. Her involvement with the arts, in and out of school, has led her to see how they are losing value among society in a time when they are needed the most.

“If you can bring joy or any sort of connection among people, I think that’d be great, because the world is kind of moving towards a lack of connection with all the phones and everything,” Dobberpuhl said.

Dobberpuhl sees music as a way to communicate more deeply than simply speaking.

“Music is a great way to express yourself and to understand other people,” Dobberpuhl said. “You may not be able to say how you feel in a conversation, but if you can express it through, not even your song, just any song, just the emotions that you can express with music are often times more raw than the emotions you just say.”

Through her duet work with senior Matt Burmeister for their musical Instagram account, Dobberpuhl has discovered the cooperation and connections that music can bring.

“You need to have patience, you need to have teamwork, especially when working with someone, but it’s great to have another person that’s with you,” Dobberpuhl said. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s a feeling of support and comfort when you’re singing with someone, and it’s kind of more beautiful that way.”

Burmeister agreed that music is a vital form of communication.

“I think that it’s easy to communicate through music with the people around you, and also with the people that aren’t around you,” Burmeister said. “The person that wrote the song wrote it to communicate with you. They meant to make you feel something special, and when they’re successful with that, then it translates to when you replay the song, and you can make other people feel that same special feeling.”

Dobberpuhl sums up the value of the arts in their unique ability to provoke human emotions.

“If it makes you feel something, it’s worth it,” Dobberpuhl said.