Russell Hughes
Russell Hughes joins the Burch School of Music bringing a lifelong
background of musical and teaching knowledge along with varied career
experiences in organizational management and fundraising.
Mr. Hughes received his Bachelor of Music (piano performance) degree from Texas
Tech University. He was awarded one of the coveted Browning Piano
Awards each year during his undergraduate career, and served as a Graduate
Teaching Assistant while completing the requirements for his Master of Music
(piano performance) degree. Following his studies at Texas Tech, Hughes was
named a Graduate Scholar and Ambassador for International Understanding for
Rotary International. During this appointment he studied piano at Salzburg’s
Hochschule fur Musik und darstellende Kunst while completing additional
coursework at the University of Vienna and University of Salzburg.
Upon returning to the U.S. Mr. Hughes was named Executive Director of the
Lubbock Arts Alliance, where he spent over 10 years building an agency that
provided annual grants funding to numerous city arts organizations and produced
an annual arts festival that, during his tenure, received recognition as one of
the top 100 arts festivals in the country.
Mr. Hughes next returned to Texas Tech as a member of the staff for The Horizon
Campaign, an effort that over a five-year period raised more than one-half
billion dollars in funding and support for the university system. Beginning as
Associate Campaign Director, Mr. Hughes was soon promoted to Director of
Campaign Events where he produced special events for the campaign in all major
Texas cities. His final assignment before the campaign’s end was as Director of
Stewardship and Donor Relations.
Mr. Hughes then moved to Fort Worth where he joined the staff member of the
American Heart Association, raising funds and managing volunteer programs in
both Fort Worth and Wichita Falls.
Mr. Hughes has been involved in a number of state, national and international
organizations including the Council on the Advancement and Support of Education
(CASE), the International Festivals and Events Association, the National
Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, The Texas Alliance for Education and the Arts
and the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation, Inc. to name a few.
Mr. Hughes was selected for inclusion in the 30th and 31st Annual Editions of
Outstanding Young Men of America, was named Outstanding Lubbock Citizen by the
Lubbock Jaycees, and was designated as Highest Ranking Graduate in Texas Tech
University’s College of Arts & Sciences.
As a pianist, Mr. Hughes has performed solo recitals in both Europe and the
United States, and he had also appeared as a soloist with orchestra, as a
chamber musician and as a duo-pianist with his sister Holly Hughes.
