School of Health Sciences students enjoy new piano in the Francis Center

A new piano in Elon University’s Gerald L. Francis Center is giving students, faculty and staff the opportunity to enjoy the power of music in a new place on campus while highlighting the connection between music and the health sciences.

“Music has always been very therapeutic for me,” says Aaron Zettel ’26, a first-year physical therapy student.

Charity Johansson, interim department chair in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, first noticed Zettel eyeing a baby grand piano during a community-based course activity at Twin Lakes Community.

“The way Aaron was looking at that piano, I knew playing had to be special to him,” said Johansson. And it was.

“If I had a piano here,” Zettel said, “I would play it every day.”

That’s when Johansson began her quest to find a piano to house in the Francis Center. She reached out to Hallie Hogan, chair of the Department of Music.

“I’m overjoyed that the music department was asked to contribute to this endeavor,” Hogan said. “Making music brings our minds into focus, helps us release stress and brings a unique joy to our senses.  Many students play the pianos in the Center for the Arts, and now this one will hopefully make a difference in students’ lives across campus.”

“For me, a piano in the Francis Center represents the integration of mind, body, and spirit that Elon is known for,” said Johansson to students, faculty and staff from all three School of Health Sciences programs who gathered to celebrate on June 28.

“Music and the health sciences have more in common than you might think at first,” said Maha Lund, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “They both require creativity and pattern recognition, and you have to practice, practice, practice to become an expert.”

“There’s plenty of research demonstrating the value of playing and listening to piano music as a way of decreasing stress and improving well-being,” said Johansson. “The School of Health Science’s physical therapy, nursing and physician assistant programs can be intense, and I’m pleased that our students will have this avenue for reducing the stress.”

Zettel, who played for the large group that had gathered, couldn’t agree more.

“If you can relate a song or music to what you’re going through in your personal life, you can often find the solution to the problems you’re encountering, and then you have an outlet,” Zettel said.

Zettel also looks forward to opportunities for more connections among the students in the different programs.

“Music breaks the barrier of unknowns between people,” said Zettel. “You may not even know somebody, but you’re able to play a song that they connect with, and before you know it, you’ve started a relationship.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing more beautiful and uplifting music in this lovely space,” Lund said as the celebration concluded.

And it didn’t take long. Even as people headed back to their offices and classrooms, people were still smiling as more students were taking their turns at the keys.