Born in Singapore, German cellist Carlo Lay started playing the cello in early childhood. Currently based in Berlin, Germany, Carlo is pursuing his Master’s degree with Danjulo Ishizaka at the Universität der Künste Berlin and with Sol Gabetta at the Musikakademie Basel. He completed his Bachelor's degree with Leonid Gorokhov at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in June 2022.

Carlo performed at numerous festivals including the Beethovenfest Bonn, Brussels Cello Festival, Kronberg Academy, International Mendelssohn Festival, Olympic Music Festival, and Schumannfest Bonn, and has given concerts as a soloist with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, the WDR Orchestra, and the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen. Concert tours as a soloist and chamber musician have taken him to Europe, Asia, and the USA.

He is a laureate of national and international competitions such as the Flame Competition in Paris, the Beethoven Bonnensis competition, the Anton Rubinstein Competition for Chamber Music, and won the sponsorship award at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

A dedicated chamber musician, Carlo is a founding member of the Avin Trio and together with the Avin Trio, has been part of a virtual reality video production, which has been nominated for an OPUS KLASSIK 2022. Recent chamber music partners include Vadim Gluzman, Boris Garlitsky, Jonathan Brown (Casals Quartet) and the Arianna String Quartet. As a former member of the LGT Young Soloists, he recorded two CDs for Sony RCA Red Seal.

Carlo has been given further musical inspiration and stimuli from Igor Levit, Daniel Hope, Donald Weilerstein, Frans Helmerson, Blaise Déjardin, Brant Taylor, Jens Peter Maintz, and members of the Kuss Quartett, Vogler Quartett, Kronos Quartet and Atos Trio.

Carlo holds a scholarship from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, the Bischöfliche Studienförderung Cusanuswerk, the Janssen Stiftung, the Hindemith Gesellschaft Berlin, and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz and plays on an Angelo Toppani Cello from 1733 provided by the ANDARTA Foundation.

Since 2022, Carlo has been the European Liaison of the International Cello Institute.