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. These include the major American orchestras of Boston, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Milwaukee, etc., Britain’s London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic, and orchestral performances at Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center, and in Berlin, Warsaw, Barcelona, Kiev, Montreal, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cairo, Caracas, and other world cities.
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.
Among his best known works for winds and percussion: Lift-Off percussion trio; Drastic Measures saxophone quartet; Cave for wind ensemble; The Glory and the Grandeur concerto for percussion trio and orchestra or wind symphony; The Upward Stream concerto for tenor saxophone and orchestra or symphonic band.
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.