In this June 21 installment of the IFCP's residency at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Marc Ponthus is featured not only as a pianist but also as a composer creating music under the nom de plume, Outis. He is joined in this concert by guests performing his own works and that of Jean Barraqué.

Versatility is the name of the game when it comes to career longevity in New York's thriving musical scene and jazz singer, composer, and collaborator, Theo Bleckmann has more than enough to go around. In this September 22 performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Bleckmann presents his latest project, Hello Earth! - the music of Kate Bush, joined by John Hollenbeck (percussion), Skuli Sverrisson (bass), Henry Hey (keys, vocals) and Caleb Burhans (violin, guitar, vocals).

On August 24 at (Le) Poisson Rouge, composer Ted Hearne speaks his political convictions through Katrina Ballads, a work based on the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Katrina which tore through the southeast United States in 2005.

In this July 21 performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge, UK-based label, NONCLASSICAL presents the pianist GéNIA and percussionist Joby Burgess performing works by John Richards, Matthew Fairclough, Karen Tanaka, Graham Fitkin, Javier Alvarez and last but certainly not least, the label's founder, Gabriel Prokofiev.

Scottish cellist Peter Gregson is used to packing for three as his performances often require both the traditional acoustic cello and a custom electric instrument. In his New York debut on August 8 at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Gregson shows off his agility on both forms of the cello in works by Steve Reich, Max Richter, Daníel Bjarnason, John Metcalfe, Sally Beamish and Thomas Tallis.

Solo piano repertoire has long been a staple of the classical music tradition dating back to the times of Bach and Mozart such that it's presence is often taken for granted and viewed as a thing of the past. In this August 17 CD release party at (Le) Poisson Rouge, however, pianist Kathleen Supové turns this dated notion on its head, presenting an eclectic evening of solo works written expressly for her by some of today's groundbreaking composers including Missy Mazzoli, Michael Gatonska, Anna Clyne, Dan Becker and Randall Woolf.

The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), although only about a decade old, is one of the most distinguished new music groups around today. Pioneering a model for how the 21st century chamber musician should function and find their way in today's artistic scene, ICE has set the standard for many modern, multi-faceted musicians with a taste for contemporary music. In this April 27 concert, ICE performs music of John Zorn, Dai Fukijura and Du Yun, led by conductor Matthias Pintscher in a performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge.

The realtor's mantra -- location, location, location -- appears to ring true in this successful installment of the Mannes College's Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance. While previously housed entirely at the College's auditorium, this year Mannes chose to move some concerts to the trendy and amplified club, (Le) Poisson Rouge, resulting in an electrifying atmosphere at this TimeTable Percussion performance on June 20.

In celebration of their second Sony Classical release, New Worlds, The Knights perform at (Le) Poisson Rouge in this May 3 concert, with a program including the contemporary sounds of Ljova and Erik Satie, coupled with the traditional harmonies of Antonin Dvořák and Franz Schubert.

In this June 29 performance, the long-standing and famously accomplished International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) joins forces with the explosive and progressive JACK Quartet as a send-off to their performances at the the International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany. The two new music giants perform works by Earl Brown, Caleb Burhans, Jason Eckhardt and Yoshiaki Onishi.

SIC inC (Student Independent-Classical Interdisciplinary Collective)--also known as Yale College New Music--is a collective of chamber musicians with the raw talent and creativity that only young college students can muster. In this February 3 concert at (Le) Poisson Rouge, we hear original music by the ensemble's award-winning student composers Stephen Feigenbaum and Ellis Ludwig-Leone.

On Friday, the 13th, Q2 asked New York's community of adventurous music lovers to react to and document, via Q2's Facebook and Twitter accounts, a visceral and cerebral performance that took place at the Whitney's Christian Marclay: Festival. The concert was led by the seminal downtown guitarist/composer/saxophonist Elliott Sharp, who performed and conducted Marclay's Graffiti Composition with the electric guitar quartet, Dither.

The Chiara Quartet proves that they know what chamber music is all about by respecting its roots. As a part of their own back-to-basics series, Chamber Music in any Chamber, the Chiaras performed at (Le) Poisson Rouge, bolstering a program that bypasses concert hall for clubs and galleries, returning chamber music to its rightful birthplace in intimate settings.

On April 30, Icelandic artist Jóhann Jóhannsson kicked off his two-week, 13-city North American tour with a performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Joined by new music stalwarts ACME and percussionist Matthias Hemstock, Jóhannsson performed songs from his popular records including Fordlândia, Englabörn, IBM 1401, A User's Manual and The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky's Turned Black.

Native New Yorker and award-winning composer Martin Bresnick celebrated the release of his newest album, Every Thing Must Go, with a little help from musicians Lisa Moore, Ashley Bathgate, Abigail Nims, Wei-Yi Yang and the Preludio Saxophone Quartet in this May 11, 2010 concert recorded live at (Le) Poisson Rouge.

Though a relative newcomer to New York, composer/pianist Timo Andres has already taken to the city's New Music scene with the same youthful fervor and energy that can be found in his compositions and virtuosic performances.

The young and daring Crash Ensemble has been around for 13 years, and like any teenager coming of age, has a rebellious streak. Showing off their wild side at (Le) Poisson Rouge, the group performs works of Terry Riley, David Lang, Steve Reich and their own artistic director Donnacha Dennehy in this May 10 performance.

New York City is a community of locals and immigrants from near and far, so it's no surprise that Canadian conductor and pianist Justin Bischof chose this city as the home for the Canadian Chamber Orchestra of New York City (CCO/NYC), a showcase for the growing Canadian artistic community in town.

Childhood is a magical time when imaginations run freely and we create to our hearts content. Fortunately for musicians, the fun doesn't end in kindergarten art class. In celebration of the release of their collaborative album, Treasure State, So Percussion and Matmos take the stage on June 8 at (Le) Poisson Rouge, proving that uninhibited creativity can go a long way toward making music -- and that even cactus needles can be used as evocative instruments.