Recently, the concert halls, auditoriums and lecture rooms at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SCM) have been crowded with the general public, who are allowed to enjoy free concerts played by the university’s students.

Every year, the conservatory holds graduation exam concerts for its graduating students. To get the degree of Master of Musical Arts in Performance, not only do the students have to finish their graduation thesis, they also need to play an exam concert. To put all that they’ve learned into practice, students spend much time and efforts preparing the concert, thus presenting a high-quality performance. During the recent couple of years, the conservatory has opened the concerts for public audiences, other than the graduates’ family and friends.

According to SCM’s official WeChat account, around 100 exam concerts played by the Graduating Class of 2018 will be held throughout December, which are open and free of charge to the public unless otherwise noted. People can enjoy performances of different music genres, such as Western Orchestra, piano, folk music, bel canto and so on. 

Many citizens find it a rare opportunity to be able to enjoy music shows for free. Some even watched four shows at one sitting. “It’s like coming across a treasure! It is beyond our expectation that the concerts are open to the public,” said one audience member excitedly.