Toloa is a 17-year-old violinist who was first introduced to the violin through the Virtuoso Strings violin classes as a 12-year-old student at Rangikura School in 2015. He began receiving individual lessons with Elizabeth Sneyd mid-2016, and with sponsorship support from Carolyn Rait passed his Grade 8 Trinity exam in 2017. He now receives tuition from Helene Pohl from the New Zealand String Quartet, along with extra valuable coaching through his internship with Orchestra Wellington with concertmistress Amalia Hall. Last year, Toloa led two groups in the 2019 NZCT Chamber Music Contest, in which both his groups made it to the national final. His string quartet, Sixteen Strings, won the overall prize, while his other group the Virtuoso Strings Octet won the People's Choice Award. Toloa now attends Aotea College as a Year 13 student, hoping to pursue a career in music and law at the Victoria University of Wellington.