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GREENSBORO - Orchestral musicians and fans long will remember Russell Peck for his compositions and charismatic stage presence when narrating his works.

But family and friends say that they also will remember the Greensboro composer for his kindness, compassion and sense of humor.

"Russell told me within the past six months or year that he felt the greatest desire in his life was to bring joy into other people's lives," Cameron Gordon Peck, his wife of 37 years, said Monday.

Police on Tuesday officially confirmed that a body found Saturday in a wooded area off Whitehurst Road is that of her husband, 64. Police and search teams had looked for Russell Peck since he failed to return from a walk on March 1. Police on Tuesday called the death a suicide.

A gathering and visitation is planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at St. Francis Episcopal Church, 3506 Lawndale Drive. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church, followed by a committal in the memorial garden.

On Monday, Peck's wife and friends talked about his joyous classical and educational compositions, which have been performed by hundreds of orchestras around the world.

Most known is "The Thrill of the Orchestra," which demonstrates the instruments to children. The work has been performed in different languages worldwide and locally by the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, its youth orchestra and the Winston-Salem Symphony.

"Russell's desire was to help the orchestra come alive for young people the way it had for him," Cameron Peck said.

Bruce Kiesling, resident conductor of the Greensboro Symphony, described Peck as an enthusiastic host for his work.

"It was great for kids in the audience to hear a real, live composer talk about the piece," said Kiesling, who also conducted performances of another popular Peck work, percussion concerto "The Glory and the Grandeur."

In 2000, a consortium of 39 American orchestras commissioned him to write the timpani concerto "Harmonic Rhythm."

Compared with other composers, though, her husband did not have a large repertoire of work, said Cameron Peck, a musician herself.

Instead, he focused on making each piece a gem.

"Working to get the form of the music was crucially important to him," she said. "He wanted an audience to hear it as a musical journey."

Beyond music, Peck had another cause: the elimination of starvation worldwide.

He and a friend in Maryland long pushed, without success, to have the United Nations pass a starvation-free world resolution.

"One of the most striking characteristics about him was his kindness," his wife said. "He so very much wanted to make a difference."

Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com