Minas Christian (1921 1989) was an American violinist and conductor of Greek parentage. He began his career as a child prodigy at the age of 10 in Wichita, Kansas, just two years after beginning the violin, and made his debut with the London Symphony. He went on to study at the University of Michigan, the Conservatory of Music in Kansas City, and Julliard School of Music in New York. After serving as a 1st Lieutenant with the Army Medical Corps during WWII, he became the conductor of the University of Arkansas Symphony. Christian conducted the Evansville (Indiana) Philharmonic Orchestra from 1953 through 1979 and served as the first full time conductor and music director. Christian also helped to launch the Philharmonic Guild and began a series of concerts for young people, recognizing the importance of music education for young children. Christian left the orchestra in 1979 under circumstances which divided the organization and surrounding community. (https://digital.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.DisplayEADDoc.do?source=MdU.ead.scpa.0161.xml&style=ead)