Hof honours successful young guitarists

Young musicians have won first prizes at the KraCamera international chamber music competition in Krakow, Poland.

Auf dem Bild sind zwei Erwachsene zu sehen, die mit vier Kindern bzw. Jugendlichen auf einer Bühne stehen. — Foto (Peter Nürmberger): (v.l.) Jeroen Sigl, Jule Wiertelorz, Rahel Wohlleben, Conrad Leander Jahn, Bürgermeisterin Angela Bier, Dietmar Ungerank

Last Saturday, as part of BÜHNE RAUS, Mayor Angela Bier honoured several outstanding young musicians who had won first prizes at the KraCamera international chamber music competition in Krakow, Poland. The city of Hof took the opportunity to showcase the next generation of musicians and honour their achievements in a festive setting.

The two young guitarists Rahel Wohlleben and Conrad Leander Jahn, who scored top marks in age category B (born between 2013 and 2016), took centre stage. Both had already won first prizes at "Jugend musiziert" several times before - most recently in 2025 at the Hochfranken regional competition in the duo category.

Mayor Angela Bier: "What Rahel and Conrad achieve musically is extraordinary - and their success in Krakow shows that this talent radiates far beyond our region." As a small surprise, she presented them both with an ice cream voucher for the Florida ice cream parlour in Hof.

The city of Hof also paid tribute to the long-standing guitar teacher Dietmar Ungerank, who teaches Rahel and Conrad. With his guitar school "Friends of the Guitar", he has been shaping the Hof music scene for decades. Mayor Bier also recalled the awarding of the Reinhart Medal last year - the highest cultural honour of the city of Hof.

The guitarists Jule Wiertelorz and Jeroen Sigl, who also won first prize in the age group D (born between 1995 and 2006) at the competition in Krakow, also received great recognition. The duo also won second prize at the national Jugend musiziert 2025 competition in Wuppertal with 22 points - after successfully qualifying for the regional and state competitions. Jule is taught by Ewa Margareta Cyran at the Hofer Symphoniker music school, while Jeroen studies with Dietmar Ungerank. Both also received an ice cream voucher as a symbolic thank you from the city of Hof.

"It was important to us to congratulate these great young musicians not just in the town hall, but on an open stage - in front of an audience, as part of a cultural festival that stands for community and the visibility of art," emphasised Mayor Bier. "Such achievements deserve recognition - and hopefully motivate many young people to continue their artistic development."

To conclude the award ceremony, Jule Wiertelorz and Jeroen Sigl performed live on stage - as sounding proof of the high level of musical talent being cultivated in Hof.