“If you wouldn't see who is playing, you would think it is somebody from India.” - with these words his Guru introduced Christian to the audience when he performed at the Embassy of India in Berlin for the first time.
On a journey to the Indian classical music tradition fascinated Christian and he started to take his first sitar lessons in Benares. After learning from several local teachers, the structure of North Indian classical music and playing technique of the sitar were taught to him by renowned artists like Dr. Raj Bhan Singh and Prof. Subroto Roy Chowdhury in the following years.
Still eager to improve, Christian became disciple of Pandit Manilal Nag, doyen of the Bishnupur Gharana, and has continued to learn under his tutelage since 2004.
At present, Christian studies his instrument at the Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata as ICCR scholar under guidance of the eminent Sitar player Pandit Sanjoy Bandopadhyay.
Christian has passed the third year exam of the Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad in the first division with distinction.
He has given concerts at international venues and festivals in Germany, U.K., France, Italy, India and Indonesia to the acclaim of audiences and the media, performed for the Indian TV channels Doordarshan, Max5Entertainment and the German RBB Kulturradio, and has held lecture demonstrations and workshops about Indian classical music at various cultural centres. His profound knowledge of Indian classical music is audible in his Raga renditions - in his playing the very soul of India can be heard.
Other fields of his interest are Indian musicology and Indian linguistics, with a view to deepen his knowledge of Indian classical music in the wider context of its relation to the culture and history of the South Asian subcontinent. Christian speaks fluent Bengali and has acquired knowledge of Hindi.
Apart from teaching Sitar in Germany, he also arranges compositions for Indian and Western instruments in collaboration with artists from other musical traditions and works as studio musician.