Edwin Carr was a well-known composer, who lived on Waiheke Island from 1991 until his death in 2003.
Born in 1926, he attended Otago Boys’ High School before studying music at Otago University and Auckland University College. In the 1940s he studied under such names as Douglas Lilburn and Benjamin Frankel. In the 1950s he won scholarships to study in Rome and Munich, were he studied with Carl Orff.
Edwin Carr returned to New Zealand in 1958, teaching and composing until 1960, after which he spent time in both Australia and England. He was awarded the Mozart Fellowship at the University of Otago 1973/4, before becoming the next year teacher of composition at the Sydney Conservatorium. After more time in London and then Australia, he returned to New Zealand to live in Taupo. Then, in 1991, he moved to Waiheke where he continued to compose.
In 1999 he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.