William Carter is a leading exponent of the lute, theorbo, and other early plucked stringed instruments. With flourishing careers as a soloist and as principal lutenist in several leading English ensembles, he is also a prominent educator.

Carter was born in Florida and studied at Florida State University, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees and also taught there for a time. His teacher there was Bruce Holzman, and his course of study was in conventional classical guitar. Carter went on to a position as a state artist-in-residence in North Carolina and then joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University. During this period, he became interested in early stringed instruments, applied for a Fulbright Fellowship to study them in London, and was accepted. After a preparatory period of study with Patrick O'Brien in New York, he arrived in London in 1989 and took lute classes with Nigel North. Soon, he became a member of the Palladian Ensemble, the Academy of Ancient Music, and The English Concert, rising to the position of principal lutenist with the latter two groups. Carter's recording debut came in 1994 as a theorbist on the seventh volume of the Hyperion label's complete cycle of anthems and services by Purcell. He went on to make ten albums as a member of the Palladian Ensemble.

In 2002, Carter backed vocalist Clara Sanabras on the album The New Irish Girl and Other Folk Songs and Ballads to the Lute. Beginning with that album, Carter recorded for the Linn label, and he has remained part of its roster. In 2005, he released his solo debut, La Guitarre Royalle: The music of Francesco Corbetta, which made Gramophone magazine's Critics' Choice list for the year. Meanwhile, Carter was building a solo career. He has toured widely across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and has appeared internationally at various music festivals. He joined the faculty at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, rising to the rank of professor of Baroque Studies. He has issued various albums on Linn, including 2022's Esaias Reusner: Delitiae Testudinis. By the early 2020s, his recording catalog comprised some 45 items, covering a wide variety of music from Bach to early Spanish composer Santiago de Murcia, and he has stated that he plans to explore the world of the 19th century guitar. ~ James Manheim, Rovi