Accompanists

Wings of Song is fortunate to have three great accompanists pitch in for rehearsals and concerts. Next time you see them at a concert, be sure to sit near the piano so you can watch them burn up the keys (but don't get dizzy)!

Brooks Milgate

Having been with the chorus for over 15 years, Brooks Milgate is referred to by Music Director Nym Cooke as "the engine that drives the ship." He has added style and panache to many of the group's finest performances.

Born in Mesopotamia, OH, Milgate is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has sung and played electric keyboards in a number of pop and jazz groups, including the duo Hey Now, Morris Fader.

As of the 2020's, Brooks has taken breaks from Wings of Song as his musical career has taken off and he tours throughout the United States and overseas with various musicians including, most recently, Ana Popovic, Chris O'Leary, and Mark Hummell. But, his dedication to the chorus remains strong; he even commutes from New York City to be with us as much as he can, for which we are very grateful!

WoS has been lucky to have such a skilled musician and wonderful person as its accompanist. Always smiling, positive, humble, and able to work with whatever musical challenge Nym throws his way, Brooks has been an incredible asset to the chorus. He has also set up his own sound system to use at many concerts, used for his keyboard and for amplifying Nym and soloists, sometimes even in his absence.

Find out more about Brooks, including his solo album, Roll With the Punches, at his website.

Kiel Krommer

Kiel joined us for the Winter 2025 season, filling in for Brooks for rehearsals as needed, and is our primary accompanist for the Spring 2026 season.

More info to come.

Nancy Ducharme

Nancy has been involved with WoS as a guest pianist since Winter 2012 and periodically since the Spring 2020 season, sometimes as accompanist for the full season or by filling in for concerts or rehearsals as needed.

Nancy grew up in a musical family in Stafford Springs, CT, started taking piano lessons at five years old, accompanied the Stafford High School chorus while a student, and attended Hartt School of Music in West Hartford. After a 22-year hiatus, she began a career in music in 2000 and accompanied many musicals, from Bernstein to Sondheim, at local schools and theaters including the Bradley Playhouse in Putnam, CT.

She has also accompanied choruses at Pomfret School, Woodstock Middle School, Woodstock Academy, and other schools in the area, as well as accompanied voice lessons both at UConn and privately.

Nancy works at East Woodstock Congregational Church, starting out as organist/pianist in 2008 before being promoted to Director of Music in 2015.

The daughter of a piano teacher, she used to joke that she would never be like her mother, yet she has been teaching piano lessons since 2005 and accompanies a senior chorus at the Mansfield, CT Senior Center!