Shanghai-born erhu player and composer George Gao will play his self-invented Shaoqin Erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed bowed erhu instrument fixed with an electronic gadget, at a show Sept. 7 at the Shenzhen Concert Hall. Guest musicians include Chinese erhu players Lu Yiwen, Chen Chunyuan and Wu Xudong.

    Gao studied erhu at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and then moved to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada, to study piano and vocals. He founded the pop bands Red Maple Leaf and Snowman in China in the 1980s and the pop band Inner Pulse in Canada. In 2005, he was invited to play at the Governor-General’s inauguration in Ottawa.

    Gao has performed with multiple orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Center Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Georgian Bay Symphony and I Musici de Montreal Chamber Orchestra. His most notable work is the soundtrack of the television series “Earth: Final Conflict.” He has also performed with the Canada-based violin group Bowfire.

    The erhu is sometimes known in the Western world as the Chinese violin or as the Chinese two-stringed fiddle. One of the disadvantages the erhu has is that it has only two strings, as opposed to the four-stringed violin. The player must reach an extended amount of notes on a single string to make up for this difference.

    Gao invented the Shaoqin Erhu by adding an electronic gadget and has transformed many Western classical pieces for the Shaoqin Erhu. Many of his adaptations successfully convey the same virtuosity displayed in the original versions.

    Before performing Sept. 7, Gao will give a free talk that afternoon at the Shenzhen Concert Hall. Free tickets can be claimed at szyyt.com.

    Time: 3 p.m. (talk), 8 p.m. (concert), Sept. 7

    Tickets: 80-380 yuan (concert), free for the talk

    Reservations: 400-610-3721

    Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, intersection of Hongli Road and Yitian Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路和益田路交汇处深圳音乐厅)

    Metro: Longhua or Longgang Line, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D(SD News)