The Miller Theatre at Columbia University has just announced its 2007–08 season, and as usual there are some choice events on the horizon. Probably the most important is the local premiere of Elliott Carter’s opera What Next?, to be presented by the Juilliard ensemble AXIOM Dec. 7-11.

This year’s batch of Composer Portrait concerts includes programs devoted to Esa-Pekka Salonen, Wolfgang Rihm (the Columbia Sinfonietta playing the exhilarating Jagden und Formen), David Sanford (a big-band project with Matt Haimovitz), Gerald Barry, Philippe Hurel (by the International Contemporary Ensemble), George Crumb (So Percussion) and Peter Lieberson. Three new Pocket Concertos this season are by John Zorn (for vocalist Mike Patton), Laura Elise Schwendinger (for violinist Jennifer Koh) and Ichizo Okashiro (for pianist Christopher Taylor). Elsewhere, there’s early music in abundance, and the Pacifica String Quartet will perform a complete Beethoven cycle in a series of free lunchtime concerts. Go, see.

Speaking of the International Contemporary Ensemble, they’ve got an unusual date coming up in the Spiegeltent, down at the former location of the Fulton Fish Market. On September 4 at 6pm, ICE presents the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Philippe Manoury, featuring the contributions of soprano Tony Arnold (who was riveting in another recent ICE performance) and poet Jerome Rothenberg.