L. M. Christian, born on the island of Saint Kitts, where his Antigua-born father William Matthew Christian (1879–1961) was serving as a police sergeant in the Leeward Islands Police Force, came to Dominica as a child with his parents, in 1918.[1]
Following in the footsteps of his father, a skilled guitarist who in the 1930s founded a family orchestra, L. M. Christian in 1944 opened the Christian Musical Class and Commercial School, the first music school in the Eastern Caribbean,[1][5] which he ran in conjunction with typing classes.[6]
Alongside lyrics by Wilfred Oscar Morgan Pond (1912–1985),[8] Christian's music for "Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour" was adopted as the national anthem in 1967 when Dominica achieved statehood status within the British Commonwealth, being retained upon the country's independence in 1978.[9] It was listed by The Guardian as one of the 10 best national anthems of countries competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[10]
Christian was inducted into the Hall of Fame of St Luke’s Primary School.[11]
Family life
Christian passed on his love of music to his children, all of whom are professional musicians including his daughters Peganini, Palestrina, and Verdi,[5] and his sons Handel and Purcell. In 2013, Purcell Christian received a Golden Drum Award, Dominica's highest cultural award, "for giving praise-worthy service work in music education and performance".[12]
L. M. Christian's siblings included Wendell McKenzie Christian (1921–2011, father of Gabriel J. Christian) and Henckell Christian, who was the father of music educator and composer Pearle Christian and served as Minister of Education and Health in the Dominica government.[5][13][14]
