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German Music Prize winners anounced

Kate BradyMarch 19, 2016

The 42nd German Music Competition has come to a close in the western German city of Bonn. Among the five winners were a soprano, two cellists, one tuba and one trumpet player.

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Simon Höfele, Constantin Hartwig, Raphaela Gromes, Katharina Konradi and Valentino Worlitzsch
Image: DMW

Soprano winner Katharina Konradi (second right) made her debut in the 2014 to 2015 season at the Hof Theater in Bavaria, where she played Anne Frank in the mono-opera "The Diary of Anne Frank" by Grigori Frid. She currently belongs to the ensemble of the Hessen State Theater of Wiesbaden.

Raphaela Gromes (center) was one of the two winning cellists and has previously played under renowned conductors such as Kent Nagano and Christian Altenburger. The Munich-born musician currently plays a Jean Baptiste Vuillaume cello, dating from around 1850.

The second winning cellist, Valentino Worlitzsch (far right), previously reached the semifinals of competitions such as the International ARD Competition and the International Tchaikovsky Competition. His work currently focuses on the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the Nuremberg Symphony.

Trumpet-player Simon Höfele (far left) was also among the winners. As a soloist, he has played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam under maestro Semyon Bychkov, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the German Chamber Orchestra Philharmonic in Bremen, as well as the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and at the Darmstadt State Theater.

Constantin Hartwig (second left) was the only tuba player among the winners and currently plays with the Dortmund Philharmonic. He has played with the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, the Munich Symphony and the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Composers Tobias Klich and Tamon Yashima also received awards in a separate category for composers.

Next year's two-week event will be held in the eastern German city of Leipzig from February 27 to March 12.