In 2024, Laurens de Man (‘s-Hertogenbosch, 1993) became the first organist to win the Dutch Music Prize, the highest award awarded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to a musician working in classical music. He studied piano, organ and minor harpsichord with resp. Jacques van Oortmerssen, David Kuyken and Johan Hofmann at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He continued his studies with Leo van Doeselaar at the Berlin Universität der Künste (Organ Exam); He completed this study in 2019 with the highest grades. Laurens has won several prizes as a pianist and organist, at competitions in The Hague (Princess Christina Competition, 1st prize), Würzburg (Klavierwettbewerb J.S. Bach), Groningen (Martini Organ Competition, 1st prize) and Freiberg (Silbermann Wettbewerb, 1st prize), where he became “ECHO Young Organist of the Year 2020”.

In 2018 he won the Sweelinck-Muller Prize. Among other things, as pianist of the Chimaera Trio, he plays and arranges chamber music from four centuries of music history; the trio recorded two CDs. Since 2012, Laurens has been the head organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht; in the 2022-2023 season he is “Organist in Residence” of the Contius organ in Leuven. At the Conservatory of Amsterdam he teaches classical piano for jazz pianists. As of September 2023, he has been appointed as principal subject teacher of organ at the Utrecht Conservatory.