Russell Peck

(1945 – 2009)

Russell Peck’s orchestral compositions have received thousands of performances by hundreds of orchestras in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. 

In 2000-2001 a consortium of 39 American orchestras commissioned Mr. Peck’s Timpani Concerto Harmonic Rhythm. The premiere performances began with the Louisville Orchestra and proceeded with orchestras throughout the United States, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Other best known works by Mr. Peck include his triple percussion concerto, The Glory and the Grandeur; Signs of Life II for string orchestra; and The Thrill of the Orchestra, a narrated orchestral instrument demonstration piece which was recorded for the Discovery series by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, and has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Cantonese.

Mr. Peck also performed extensively as narrator of his own orchestral works for young (and adult) audiences, and appeared as guest artist with orchestras throughout the United States.

Among the honors Mr. Peck received are the Koussevitsky Prize, two Ford Foundation Fellowships, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and several states’ arts councils, ASCAP awards, and commissions from major symphony orchestras. Artist residencies included the Gaudeamus Contemporary Music Festival in the Netherlands and a two year appointment as composer-in-residence for the city of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Symphony. Mr. Peck also served on the faculty of Northern Illinois University, Eastman School of Music, and the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Russell Peck (born Detroit, Michigan USA, 1945; died Greensboro, North Carolina USA, 2009) was an honors graduate of the University of Michigan (1966), where he also received Master and Doctoral degrees in composition (1967 and 1972). His composition teachers included Clark Eastham, Leslie Bassett, Ross Lee Finney, Gunther Schuller, and George Rochberg – the latter two through Margaret Crofts Fellowships at Tanglewood Music Center.