Pioneers of Music Education: Hodgson and Early Honored by Athens Walk of Fame

Submitted by sb70412 on
Guitar-pick shaped plaques honoring Hugh Hodgson and Mary Frances Early on the left. Headline duplicated in white lettering over black background. Franklin Spark is present in red.

During the AthFest Music & Arts Festival on Friday, June 26, the Athens Music Walk of Fame Committee officially announced the five new inductees for 2026. Among those honored were Hugh Hodgson, former director of the University of Georgia School of Music that now bears his name, and Mary Frances Early, UGA’s first African American graduate with a master’s degree in music education in 1962. Both have been incredible pioneers and leaders for music education in the state of Georgia.