Tom Pixton

Tom Pixton is active as an International, Balkan, and Scottish folk dance musician. He has worked with many of today's most accomplished dance teachers and musicians as accordionist, pianist, band leader, music arranger, and CD producer. As a soloist or with the Pinewoods Band, he has provided dance music for dance camps, workshops, and special events in the US, Canada, and Japan. He has provided music leadership for the Boston Branch of the Royal Scottish Dance Society, Cambridge Revels, and the Folk Arts Center of New England. Tom has studied accordion with Petur Ralchev, Koliu Kolev, Bobby Brown, Steve Riley, and Bois Sec Ardoin, and voice with Tatiana Srbinska. He has produced CDs with Flying Tomatoes, BiCoastal Band, and Pinewoods Band. His Scottish recordings include Saucy Bess: The Piper’s Weird and Live From C Sharp. Tom publishes the Pinewoods International Collection, a 400-page book of folk dance tunes and songs from around the world. The book has become widely known as a major source of dance music and as a reference volume. Tom was a harpsichord player and maker between 1977 and 1984, and studied with Gustav Leonhardt and Louis Bagger. He performed throughout the US, made a variety of recordings, and built 18 harpsichords. In 1991, he decided that the accordion was way more fun. Tom graduated from Brandeis University in 1976 with a degree in music. When not playing music, Tom works as a web strategist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.