Renowned organist and improviser Thierry Escaich continues to play a prominent role in the creation of contemporary music. Since 1990, when he ended his studies at the Paris Conservatoire having received eight first prizes, his first works have been rewarded with the Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation prize, awarded unanimously by a jury made up of such figures as Elliott Carter, Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Ohana. More prizes have followed