The father, who loved music and was a good violinist, wanted his son to become a musician, particularly a violin virtuoso.

In the fall of 1850, when the Music Society formed its own orchestra under the direction of Niels W. Gade, Tofte was one of its early violinists.

[1] When the Royal Danish Academy of Music was established in 1867, Tofte was appointed as the first violin teacher.

It is estimated that he taught over 300 violinists and almost two generations of artists,[1] including Anton Svendsen [ca], Frederik Hilmer [sv], Frida Schytte, Fini Henriques, Frederik Rung, Victor Bendix, Carl Nielsen, and Georg Høeberg.

[1] He died 28 May 1907 in Copenhagen and was buried at the Vestre Cemetery, with a gravestone in the Art Nouveau style designed by Thorvald Bindesbøll and erected in 1908.