Neil Rutherford Hughes

Neil Rutherford Hughes, b. April 17, 1955 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; d. December 30, 2021 in Athens, Georgia.

Neil was a graduate of McNally High School, and held a BMus in viola performance from the University of Alberta, where he studied with Michael Bowie, a founding member of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Neil spent the summers of 1974 and ’75 as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada under the renowned Austrian conductor and Bruckner interpreter Georg Tintner. In the summer of 1976, he won a spot in the viola master classes of Donald McInnes and William Primrose at the Banff Centre, School of Fine Arts, where he later also studied with members of the Hungarian String Quartet as violist of the Relevé String Quartet. He played professionally in the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s viola section from 1977-1981, and he also freelanced in Alberta for over ten years, working for CBC radio and ITV, performing for the latter with musicians such as Ray Charles, Ann Murray, and Henry Mancini.

In 1981, Neil left performance for a career in music information, receiving his AMLS degree from the University of Michigan in 1984. He later earned a second master’s degree in music history from the University of Georgia, in 1992. Neil served as Assistant Librarian at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pa., from 1984-1986 and then moved to Athens, Ga. following his marriage to his beloved Marty, whom he met in library school at Michigan. He served on the library faculty of the University of Georgia for 30 years as Head of Music Cataloging, retiring in 2016. He served on the boards of directors of the Music Library Association, the Music OCLC Users Group (MOUG), and the Music Library Association, Southeast Chapter, serving the latter two as Chair. In 2016, MOUG awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to music metadata work in libraries. Neil was a volunteer at the Georgia Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic from 1992 until 2013.

He was predeceased by his father, Walter L. Hughes and his mother, Gwen M.B. Hughes of Edmonton. Survivors include his wife, Martha Tanner Hughes of Athens; brother Robert Hughes (Theresa) of Calgary; sister Elaine Hughes of Langford, British Columbia; brother-in-law Michael Tanner of Eastlake, Ohio; sister-in-law Gayle Pauer (Tom) of Berea, Ohio; four nieces, and a nephew.

Donations in Neil’s memory may be made to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia (The State Botanical Garden of Georgia; Attention: Director of Development; 2450 South Milledge Avenue; Athens, Georgia 30605), or the Sea Turtle Conservancy (4424 NW 13th St. Suite B-11, Gainesville, FL 32069).

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Lord and Stephens Funeral Home, EAST, Athens, is in charge of arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com