The College Music Society was founded in 1958 as the merger of two organizations, The College Music Association and the Society for Music in Liberal Arts Colleges.
The history of the Society's first twenty-five years was written by Henry Woodward in a series of six articles that appeared in College Music Symposium. These article are available through JSTOR by searching for "Woodward" on Symposium's JSTOR page.
A new history of CMS, written by Mary Anne Rees, was published in 2011 and is available by clicking here. Both histories review the reasons CMS was founded, the motivations of its founders, and the challenges, accomplishments, and milestones of the Society.
A list of CMS Presidents with dates will be found here. Some of the issues the Presidents faced during their terms of office are described in detail.
More concerning the Society's history will be found in The College Music Society FAQs.
