Finishing What She Started: Music Student Nears Degree After 23 Years in the Making

LOGAN — Most college seniors are preparing to enter the workforce this month, but for Elizabeth Johnson, the finish line is just ahead. After completing her coursework this spring, the Utah State University piano performance and pedagogy major will officially graduate next year when she performs her senior recital, the final step in a journey more than two decades in the making.

Johnson returned to the classroom in 2020 after a 23-year break spent raising children and traveling the country for her husband’s Air Force career. Now, she is utilizing USU’s specialized resources to bring her lifelong passion to a professional music career.

"I don't know that I ever planned to go back, but we ended up retiring in Logan," Johnson said. "I just came across a couple of people who had graduated from piano performance at the university here, and it just got me thinking … I do want to go back and do that."

While Johnson has played piano for most of her life, she noted that the program in USU’s Department of Music has provided her with a more "well-rounded skill set" than her initial studies in the late 1990s. The curriculum combines traditional performance with pedagogy and collaborative work, such as accompanying singers and instrumentalists. Beyond the practice room, Johnson credits the university’s focus on music history and analysis for boosting her professional confidence as an instructor.

"It has influenced my piano teaching in a very good way," Johnson said. "Having a better background in piano music history, and a lot more confidence in being able to look at a piece of music and analyze it with a student, has been remarkably helpful."

A hallmark of Johnson’s time at USU was receiving a Summer Arts research grant, which allowed her to travel to Arkansas to study the manuscripts of African American composer Florence Price. The project culminated in a lecture-recital involving local youths and USU faculty.

Johnson also highlighted the piano program’s interdisciplinary efforts, including "piano area concerts" that integrate art students, dancers and even silent film accompaniment.

"I love how the piano faculty has reached out to other departments," Johnson said. "There's been just really great collaborative effort there."

With her coursework complete and her senior recital on the horizon, Johnson is now looking toward entrepreneurship. While she plans to continue teaching, she is also developing plans for a new music-focused business where she hopes to hire fellow pianists.

As she prepares for her senior recital next year, the final step toward completing her degree, Johnson’s return to higher education continues to shape both her musicianship and her ambitions, reaffirming the commitment that brought her back to finish what she started.