Carter was born in San Antonio, Texas. In 1993, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Texas. As a student, he won first prize in the 1992 UNT Concerto/Aria competition with his symphonic overture, A Titan's Epitaph. The University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Anshel Brusilow, first performed the overture in 1993. After that, Carter received commissions for concert works from cellist Carter Enyeart, saxophonist Robert Austin and the University of North Texas Men's Chorus in 1994. The work commissioned by Austin, Grand Duo Concertante, has been featured on several nationally syndicated college radio programs.
He made his Hollywood Bowl debut in 2001 with a commission from John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In the record world, he has collaborated with The Wallflowers' Rami Jaffee and blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Carter was named Commissioning Composer of the Year by the Texas Music Teachers Association and also received a fellowship to Robert Redford's Sundance Composers Institute. He served as the first Composer-In-Residence of the Bel Canto Northwest Opera Festival and has given clinics across the country on film composition.
^Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, A biographical guide featuring performers, directors, writers, producers, designers, managers, choreographers, technicians, composers, executives, dancers, and critics in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and the world, Volume 55, Gale Group, Detroit (2004)
