Lutenist, guitarist, and theorbist Toby Carr is a versatile figure who performs as a soloist, continuo player, accompanist, and chamber musician. He is also an important educator.

Carr grew up in England's Hertfordshire region. He started out as a guitarist, studying classical guitar at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London with Graham Anthony Devine. He also took classes with David Miller, who introduced him to lutes and early guitars and to the riches of Renaissance and Baroque music for plucked strings more generally. Carr went on for further studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where his principal teachers were Bob Brightmore in classical guitar and William Carter in historical performance. Carr continued on with the school's MPerf performance degree, specializing in historical performance and graduating in 2015. Carr continues to play classical guitar in music of various periods, but he has specialized in the Renaissance and Baroque, playing the music of 17th century England and Italy, in particular, on guitar, lute, and theorbo. Carr has performed in a great variety of groups and situations. He has appeared with leading historical performance ensembles, including the Academy of Ancient Music, The English Concert, and La Nuova Musica, as well as modern orchestras and opera companies, including the Royal Ballet, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the English Touring Opera. Carr has also been active as a performer at the Handel & Hendrix Museum in London, which features two nearby houses once inhabited by George Frederick Handel and Jimi Hendrix. Carr returned to his alma mater, the Guildhall School of Music & Dance, as a professor. He is in demand as an accompanist, backing such singers as Emma Kirkby, Alexander Chance, and Helen Charlston. With the latter, Carr was heard on the 2022 album Battle Cry: She Speaks. ~ James Manheim, Rovi