There's no such thing as a free lunch. But in Shanghai there are free concerts. Sophie Su, a junior student from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, has attended free concerts of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in the school's auditorium.

In the auditorium, packed with students and teachers alike, the orchestra plays pieces from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," Bizet's "Carmen" and other classics. The thunderstorm applause reveals an appreciative audience.

"I love music, and a live orchestra show is really more exciting than listening to them play on a CD," says Su. "However, as a student, I couldn't afford most concerts in major theaters. Though this concert plays too many familiar tunes, I feel lucky to be here."

The concert Su attended is one of a series of concerts held by local orchestras to promote classic music among the general public, particularly younger generations. Not all of the concerts are free however, several charge a small fee for tickets.

Since the 1950s, the city started to hold such concerts -geared toward newcomers to classical music. The local symphony orchestra, for instance, usually holds eight to 10 free concerts in schools every year.

Through the years, musicians of conscious have managed to continue the tradition to foster classical music appreciation and counter the invasion of pop music.

In the early 1980s, a middle-school teacher wrote to symphony orchestra conductor Huang Yijun about his concern about pop music's dominance with young people. Huang and other famous conductors like Chen Xieyang, Cao Peng and scholars from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music including Tan Bingruo, Qian Yuan and violinist Ding Zhinuo then launched a campaign of holding free or low-priced concerts to introduce knowledge about classical music.

Ni Shaolu, a music lover, remembers he would brave rain and wind to watch the symphony orchestra's performances in the band's rehearsal room in the mid-1980s, usually spending a mere 10 yuan (US$1.2) for all 20 concerts that year.

"At that time, 10 yuan was about one third of the average monthly income," says Ni. "But it's still worth- while to watch 20 concerts given by a good orchestra. I feel so lucky that I used my money in the right place."

Not only did the concerts give Ni a deeper understanding of works by masters like Beethoven and Mozart, but it also eventually changed his life.

In 1988, he and another 87 classical music lovers set up the Shanghai Symphony Lovers' Association, which has since expanded into a 1,000-member group that holds regular seminars and musical training.

Formerly a tax officer, Ni is now a professional concert manager. Since last September, he has organized a series of lower-priced concerts at the Shanghai Grand Theater. These concerts are usually held on weekend afternoons -- tickets range from 20 to 60 yuan.

"The past decade has witnessed a huge increase in the number of concerts, but many performances have expensive tickets that ordinary people can't afford," says Ni, 78. "In fact, the city still needs a great amount of low-admission concerts to improve the avera level of music appreciation."

Senior conductor Cao Peng agrees. "Shanghai still lags behind in terms of popularity of classical music compared with big cities like New York, Moscow and Berlin," says Cao. "It is not in line with the image of a metropolis that Shanghai has."

While music lovers like student Sophie Su opt for lower-priced or free concerts, event organizers find that lack of financial support is a big hurdle.

Cao, 78, notes that big companies with deep pockets have been responsible in the 1990s for the majority of funding for concerts, meaning cheap tickets could be made available to the public. He says the companies "lack the incentive" to continue supporting the orchestras these days.

Although help is provided from theaters charging little or no rent, insiders worry about the quality of the concerts.

"Orchestras would play the pieces they are familiar with to save costs on practice while audiences feel reluctant to attend a concert that doesn't offer anything fresh," says Ni.

To prevent that, the Grand Theater has begun inviting amateur orchestras and bands, said to be near "professional standards," to stage and schedule performances with different themes such as tango, brass and others, to attract audiences.

"Since learning music instruments has been a huge trend among Shanghai kids, many schools and universities have really good orchestras and bands," says Cao. "Hopefully, they will play a very important role in continuing the tradition of lower-priced concerts."

Professionals won't remain idle either. In April, the Zhou Xiaoyan Opera Center, led by 86-year-old soprano and music educator Zhou Xiaoyan, announced weekly opera concerts would take place at the Shanghai Art Theater with prices ranging from 60 to 180 yuan. In the first five shows, students of Zhou, the Shanghai Opera House and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music are expected to stage 20 songs picked from among the 800 most influential operas in history.

"I have spent most of my life teaching musical professionals," says Zhou. "But now I think it is equally important to foster the audience."

Due to the SARS threat, Zhou's weekend concerts have been suspended for the past month.

However, with the resumption of major performances in town, more lower-priced concerts are scheduled at local theaters and universities. And Zhou's concert series will hopefully start this autumn.

It's hard to predict when local orchestras will stop holding lower-priced concerts. With a little luck and hard work, maybe the tradition will continue indefinitely.

But if they seriously want to increase the number of classic music lovers in town, then maybe they need to go one step further and offer free lunch to anyone who attends.

(Eastday.com June 12, 2003)