Pianist and librarian Nancy Kilde Peabody

When pianist Nancy Kilde Peabody of Minneapolis accompanied performers in the Twin Cities, she played so strongly it was as if she were playing two pianos, her friends recalled.

Peabody, 76, who was known for her work at the Bloomington Civic Theatre, the former East Side Theater in St. Paul and the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, died of heart disease June 29 in Bloomington.

Peabody grew up in Eau Claire, Wis. From 1948 to 1950 attended the University of Minnesota, where she accompanied voice students.

In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, she played in about 70 productions, such as "Gypsy," "Finian's Rainbow," "The Boyfriend" and "West Side Story."

Gerald Kelley of St. Paul, a retired actor, singer and director of the former East Side Theater in St. Paul, said that Peabody was a pioneer in the Twin Cities theater scene. At the East Side in the 1960s, she was musical director and pianist.

"Nancy could play the piano like two people," said Kelley. "She made the show totally seamless, made it move."

Peabody wowed him when they would find obscure recorded music, and she would listen and transcribe the music into a score for their original comedic musical reviews, such as "Why Are You Taking Pictures Through Your Nose?" and "Shoot Low, They're Riding Shetlands."

And for more than eight years of its two-decade run, she played the piano for "I Do! I Do!" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

The actors were Susan Goeppinger and David Anders, who are married and live in Goodyear, Ariz.

"She sounded like an orchestra, because she was a very strong pianist," said Goeppinger.

For an actor to go out on the stage and never have to worry whether the pianist was "going to hit every cue and be there for everything was phenomenal," said Goeppinger.

"She was always there in mind and heart," said Goeppinger.

"She cared very deeply about her playing and her friendships," said Anders. "You actually looked forward to doing the work."

For 25 years until 2002, she was the tape librarian for Radio Talking Book at the State Services for the Blind in St. Paul, said her daughter, Miranda Hendrickson of Bloomington.

"She loved that job" and paid attention to each of her customers, anticipating their reading and listening needs, Hendrickson said. "She was service-oriented."

In retirement, she volunteered in Minneapolis school libraries.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her sons John of Hampton, Va., and Stephen of New York; sister, Connie Ott of Cross Plains, Wis.; former husband, Alan Peabody of West Hollywood, Calif., and six grandchildren.