Shanghai's very first Chamber Music Competition and Festival is running from Dec 11-16 - actually, it's also the first ever in China - with big prize money (RMB134,500 to be exact), and the master classes, seminars and concerts by the contestants are all open to the public and free. (And yes, there will be translation when needed).

The competition is not just for the Shanghai artists; this is a China-wide competition, and string quartet and piano trio groups from all of China’s music conservatories have been invited to participate. Who's excited?

The line-up starts on Monday the 14th with Moscow's Rachmaninov Trio and the youthful Finnish quartet, Meta4, performing the next day at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. These international string-ful stars will be joining the jury to judge which chamber musicians in China are worthy of this prestigious, lucrative reward.

In case you're not up-to-date about the chamber music scene in Shanghai and would like to get involved, there is in fact a Shanghai Chamber Music Lovers group that works on spreading the Chamber Music love around China. And if you're an instrumentalist looking to do a bit of classical jamming, check out the Chamber Music Society to find others to share the love.

Contact Shanghai Conservatory of Music for tickets at 6217-2426. Tickets range from RMB50-150.