Toby Wren is an Australian guitarist, composer and educator based in Brisbane whose work bridges contemporary jazz and South Indian Carnatic music. After a Bachelor of Music in composition from the Queensland Conservatorium (1998), he has had orchestral works performed by the Queensland, West Australian and Sydney Symphony orchestras and led groups including the Toby Wren Trio/Quartet. Repeated study trips to India, working with masters such as U Srinivas and Prasanna, led him to form the Carnatic Jazz Experiment, exploring the meeting of two improvising traditions. He completed a Master of Music in 2009 and a PhD in ethnomusicology in 2015, researching interculturalism, hybridity and improvisation. He has released several albums, including the acclaimed Black Mountain and 2025’s Songs for Dead Sailors, and lectures at SAE in Brisbane.