John Adams is soon to be the focus of the new-music scene in London as the Barbican's John Adams Focus unfolds in the coming months. Over several events presented by the Barbican as part of its Great Performers series, Adams's music will be seen and heard at venues throughout London, beginning with a performance of The Wound-Dresser by Thomas Hampson and the New York Philharmonic, led by Alan Gilbert, at Barbican Hall next Thursday, February 4. (The performers are currently touring with the piece, stopping in Barcelona, Madrid, Köln, and Dortmund this week and in Paris next Tuesday.)

In March, the composer will be on hand to introduce a special screening of Wonders Are Many, the film documenting the making of Adams 2005 opera Doctor Atomic, in the Barbican Centre's Cinema 3, on March 7, followed by the UK premiere that evening of Doctor Atomic Symphony, with the composer leading the London Symphony Orchestra, at Barbican Hall (part of the LSO 2009-2010 series).

Just days later, on March 11, Adams will lead the orchestra in another first for the European premiere of his latest work, City Noir. The Telegraph's Ivan Hewett spoke with Adams, in London to rehearse for the premiere, about the piece, its jazz-inflected score, and its inspiration in the Los Angeles of Philip Marlowe and film noir. With City Noir, says Hewett, Adams "has attempted something unique; a recreation of the spirit of film noir in music. And he’s succeeded spectacularly." Hewett goes on to describe the new work as a "roller-coaster of a piece that brilliantly evokes the genre’s sleaze, threat and moments of sudden panic. And its romance, too." You can read the complete article at telegraph.co.uk.

Later in March comes another UK premiere, when the St. Lawrence String Quartet performs Adams's String Quartet, at LSO St. Luke's on the 25th. Adams wrote the piece for the St. Lawrence, which gave its world premiere at New York's Juilliard School in January 2009.

This summer, the Barbican and Theatre Royal Stratford East present a new production of John Adams's 1995 music theatre piece I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky on the main stage of the Theatre Royal, from July 2 through 17. Adams describes the piece as "a polyphonic love story in the style of a Shakespeare comedy."

For tickets and more information on all of these events, visit barbican.org.

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Adams's groundbreaking first opera, Nixon in China, will be given its first Los Angeles staging in two decades when the Long Beach Opera presents the piece March 20 and 28. In anticipation of this production, the composer will discuss the work with LBO's Artistic & General Director, Andreas Mitisek, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this Monday. In addition, members of the cast will be on hand to perform excerpts from Nixon in China, and a string ensemble will perform Adams's Shaker Loops. For more information, visit longbeachopera.org.

Also in March, Nixon in China will receive its Canadian premiere when Vancouver Opera performs it at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre as part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. For information, visit vancouver2010.com.

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Across the Atlantic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2010-11 concert season, which includes a New Creations Festival with John Adams at its core. The composer will conduct the orchestra—his first time leading the ensemble—in the Canadian premiere of City Noir on March 5, 2011. Three days earlier, Toronto's music director, Peter Oundjian, will lead the orchestra in a performance of Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Harmonielehre, and, on March 10, his Tromba Lontana. For information on these events, visit tso.ca.