Christian spent his childhood in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. He moved to London when he was 19 to study at the Guildhall School. In his late teens he had the privilege of working with Moondog, aka Louis Hardin. This experience had a profound effect on Christian’s understanding of the way contemporary music could work, without boundaries or preconceptions. He later went on to work with Michael Nyman, performing with the Michael Nyman Band and also working as part of the production team on a number of his film scores.

In his late twenties Christian was appointed Professor of Saxophone at the Guildhall School. Around the same time he released his debut album Sanctuary which received an unprecedented amount of air play on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, reaching No 1 positions in the Classical Charts. To date he has recorded six solo albums which explore his compositions, arrangements and distinctive playing. Christian’s music has been featured in a number of films, TV and radio scores, most recently for Ridley Scott’s film The Last Duel for 20th Century Fox. More recently Christian’s sound has been heavily featured on a number of releases on the Village Green label, working with composer Angèle David-Guilllou and the electronic group Snow Palms.

Christian has toured, recorded and performed with artists as diverse as Brian Eno, Damon Albarn and Hugh Jackman as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the majority of British orchestras.