British violinist and teacher of Swedish origin.

He was born on August 15, 1882, in Hull (Yorkshire, England). He was the son of Henry Tollefsen and Caroline Johanson. As a child, he moved with his family to New York (United States). He studied violin with Leopold Lichtenberg, Franz Kneisel, and Henry Schradieck; music theory with Percy Goetschius; and composition with Rubin Goldmark.

In 1907, he married pianist Augusta Octavia Schnabel, and a year later, he graduated from the Institute of Musical Art. He was a violinist in the New York Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Scandinavian Symphony Orchestra. He founded the Trio Tollefsen, along with his wife and cellist Paul Kéfer, and in 1930, he created the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society.

He taught at the National Conservatory of Music in New York, the Berkeley Institute, and the Saint Francis Xavier Academy. Dedicated to collecting musical pieces, photographs, and manuscripts of composers,in 1932 he asked Manuel de Falla for a signed portrait. He recevied the title of Knight of the Swedish Order of Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs. He passed away in New York in 1963 at the age of 81.

La colección personal de autógrafos, fotografías, manuscritos e instrumentos musicales de Carl Henry Tollefsen fue adquirida por la Southern Illinois University (Estados Unidos) en 1969.