Lutenist and guitarist Toby Carr is known as a versatile and engaging artist, working with some of the finest musicians in the business. Born in London, he grew up in Hertfordshire before moving back to London to study classical guitar with Graham Devine at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. In his second year, and on something of a whim, he signed up to second-study lessons on the lute taught by David Miller. Over the following years Toby was introduced to the renaissance lute, baroque guitar and theorbo, and had formative experiences playing renaissance and baroque music collaboratively. 

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Pursuing a postgraduate degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, he studied classical guitar with Robert Brightmore and historical plucked instruments with David Miller and William Carter, becoming a regular performer on concert platforms across the UK and beyond as a soloist, chamber musician and continuo player. He enjoys the variety of performing on a variety of different instruments and in a range of different styles, although seventeenth century music has become a particular specialism.

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Toby has performed with most of the principal period instrument ensembles in the UK and beyond, as well as with many symphony orchestras, opera companies and ballet companies. His playing has been described as ‘sensuous and vivid’ (The Guardian), ‘Eloquent’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘Mesmerising’ (Opera Today).

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Notable recordings include De Pasión Mortal with Nicholas Mulroy and Elizabeth Kenny (Linn), Drop not, mine eyeswith Alexander Chance (Linn) and Battle Cry with Helen Charlston (Delphian), winner of both BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone Awards in 2023.  

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2026 sees the release of his debut solo recording, Softest Thunder on Delphian Records. Featuring a new commission by Laura Snowden alongside Anglo-French lute music of the late renaissance and new transcriptions of modernist classics by Erik Satie and Francis Poulenc, this eclectic and innovative recital celebrates the unique sound of the lute. 

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Toby is a professor at the Guildhall school of Music & Drama, specialising in guitar chamber music. His work includes organising concerts, coaching guitarists in a variety of ensembles, overseeing and encouraging creative collaborations, and working in the historical performance department teaching historical plucked instruments and basso continuo practice.  He is delighted to share his passion for chamber music and collaboration with the next generation of musicians.