Cellist David Carter is Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Music Department.  He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Music from Indiana University and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Carter's principal cello teachers include Robert Jamieson, Gary Hoffman, Janos Starker and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.

Though legally blind as a result of the retinal disease choroideremia, Dr. Carter maintains an active performing and teaching schedule. He was founder and Artistic Director of the Bridge Chamber Music Festival from 1999-2018, performed for many years as cellist of the Melius Trio, and recently served as Cello Editor for the Minnesota String Teachers Association newsletter, StringNotes. Dr. Carter has served as Principal Cellist of the Wichita Symphony, performing as soloist with that ensemble in addition to the Minnesota Orchestra under Neville Marriner and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He served on the faculty of Wichita State University, as well as the Rocky Ridge Music Center, the Red Lodge Music Festival, and for 15 years taught at the Interlochen Summer Music Camp. Recent performances include concerto appearances with the Century Chamber Orchestra and the Winona State University Chamber Orchestra, in addition to numerous master classes around the US. Recent research interests include study of jazz improvisation and early music performance (viola da gamba,) and participation in workshops with Pedro de Alcantara, a world-renowned practitioner of the Alexander Technique.

 
Over a 35-year career of college teaching, Dr. Carter's students have gone on to study cello at some of the nation's top graduate schools, including the New England Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, and Indiana University. Cello students from St. Olaf hold positions in major symphony orchestras and university teaching positions, while many non-major students continue their life-long passion for music and the cello.

Dr. Carter can be heard on two recordings on the Centaur label, in “Three Pieces for Solo Cello” by Phillip Rhodes and works by Amy Beach, and on the Limestone label with the Melius Trio in trios by Mendelssohn, Clarke and Peter Hamlin. He performs on a cello made by David Folland (2008, Northfield, MN.)