June is finally here, and that means that this DCist can direct you to a few more concerts this week for your classical listening enjoyment (see more at Ionarts), after the lull of late May. You can plan your concert schedule for the entire month of June with our Classical Month in Washington (June), or your summer opera listening with Opera in the Summer 2005, both at Ionarts. Our activities will taper off again in August, before getting back into full swing in the fall.

NEW MUSIC:
>> This week, we are recommending some concerts featuring relatively modern music, beginning with the first ever French-American Contemporary Music Festival, beginning this Friday (June 10 at 7:30 p.m.). One of our favorite writers on music, pianist Charles Rosen, will perform with the Diotima String Quartet and other musicians. The program includes piano sonatas by Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter. A second concert on Saturday (June 11 at 5 p.m.) is dedicated to music by rising French composer Pascal Dusapin. His new opera, Faustus, the Last Night (with an English libretto derived from the play by Christopher Marlowe) will be premiered in March 2006 by the Opéra de Lyon. These events will take place at the Embassy of France, La Maison Française (4101 Reservoir Rd. NW). Tickets are $25 and require a reservation.

>> Beginning this Friday (June 10 at 7:30 p.m.), the American Chamber Players (directed by Miles Hoffman) will open the June Chamber Festival at the Kreeger Museum (2401 Foxhall Road), a sometimes overlooked local museum (the home was designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, and the Kreeger’s put together a nice little collection of art). They will present “familiar masterpieces, neglected gems, and contemporary American works,” but no other program information is available at the time of this writing. The festival continues with other concerts next Tuesday, June 14, and Friday, June 17. Tickets: $28. For reservations, call (202) 338-3552.