Chamber Music Society
Founded in 1958, The Chamber Music Society of Wellesley College provides opportunities for interested instrumentalists and vocalists to prepare and perform works for small mixed ensembles.
The Chamber Music Society’s mission is to provide students with the unique music-making experience of one-on-a-part ensemble playing without a conductor. CMS aims to introduce students to a wide range of repertoire and a variety of ensemble experiences. To expand the experience of its participants and include as many qualified players as possible, some of the music and groupings are less familiar. All ensembles are thoughtfully created to contribute to the musical growth and experience of its members.
Each ensemble receives a weekly hour of coaching from an assigned coach drawn from the Music Department's Performance Faculty. The ensemble is also expected to meet weekly for an hour independent of their coach. This is required for students who elect to take CMS for credit.
Participation is open to intermediate and advanced players of all orchestral instruments as well as to pianists, singers, guitarists, harpsichordists, and players of Baroque historical instruments who seek the special experience of one-on-a-part ensemble participation.
After the applicant’s audition, the student will be asked to fill out a schedule card. By turning in a schedule card, each student is agreeing to participate in the group in which they are placed. Very occasionally, it is not possible to place all qualified applicants. The ensemble and the piece will be assigned by CMS Co-Directors David Russell and Jenny Tang, based on level of accomplishment, scheduling, and available repertoire. Resigning from an ensemble can only be permitted for health reasons – complications in scheduling the large number of ensembles do not allow for the reconfiguration of groups after the schedule has been set.
Students who have played in CMS for at least one year may be allowed to make proposals to form specific groups. All such proposals require advance approval from one of the Co-Directors.
Auditions: A preliminary audition, held at the beginning of the applicant’s first semester, is required for acceptance into CMS. Brief sightreading may be required. Please use the Audition Information link below if you are interested.
Schedule Card: The Schedule Card link is for returning CMS members only.
Time Commitment
Each ensemble receives a weekly one-hour coaching with a music department faculty.
Students are also required to have a weekly one-hour rehearsal which is not attended by the faculty coach. This rehearsal should be set up among the group members.
Chamber Music is a team effort and requires that everyone participate fully and prepare their parts outside of rehearsals and coaching. Attendance at all rehearsals and coaching is mandatory.
Academic Credit
Students may elect to take CMS for 0.5 credits per year. It is not mandatory to seek credit. Students who participate in CMS during the Fall semester can register for it in the Spring with the director's approval. MUS 260 is for the first two years of participation, and MUS 270 is for the second two years of participation (prerequisite: MUS 260). Students seeking credit must participate in CMS all year.
E-Board
CMS is privileged to have an extensive and invaluable Board of Student Officers (E-Board). The E-Board runs social media campaigns, fundraising efforts, community outreach, and so much more!
David Russell, Co-Director
Hailed as “superb”, “incisive” and “sonorous and panoramic” (Boston Globe), David Russell maintains a vigorous schedule both as soloist and as collaborator in the U.S. and Europe. He was appointed to the teaching faculty of Wellesley College in 2005 and currently serves as Lecturer and Director of Chamber Music. He has served as Principal cello of the orchestras of Odyssey Opera and Opera Boston since 2010 and performs regularly with many ensembles based in New England such as Cantata Singers and Ensemble, the Worcester Chamber Music Society, and Emmanuel Music. A strong advocate of new music, Russell has performed and recorded with contemporary ensembles such as Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Firebird Ensemble, Ludovico Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort, Music on the Edge, Dinosaur Annex, Collage, the Fromm Players at Harvard, and entelechron. Recent projects include recordings of cello concertos by Chen Yi and Lukas Foss, recordings of solo and chamber works by Lee Hyla, Eric Moe, Tamar Diesendruck, Donald Crockett, Andrew Rindfleisch and Roger Zahab as well as premieres of music by David Lang, Barbara White, Marti Epstein, Daron Hagen, José-Luis Hurtado, Robert Carl, Gilda Lyons, and Jorge Martin. Russell has also recently premiered works for cello and orchestra by Laurie San Martin and Samuel Nichols, as well as works for solo cello by Tamar Diesendruck, Andrew Rindfleisch, and John Mallia. Russell has recorded for the Tzaddik, Albany, BMOPSound, CRI, Centaur, and New World Records labels.
Jenny Tang, Co-Director
Jenny Tang, pianist, regularly performs in solo and chamber music recitals. Her engagements include such venues as Jordan Hall, Sanders Theatre, Symphony Hall, Meadow Hall and Concert Hall at Groton Hill Music, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, Berklee College of Music, and Wellesley College.
Jenny’s recent engagements include a lecture-solo recital titled “A Coincidence of Chaos and Order: Works of Schumann, Ligeti and Barber” for the New England Piano Teacher’s Association, and two performances as a featured piano soloist with the Vista Philharmonic Chamber Players of Groton Hill Music in 2023. She frequently collaborates with the Wellesley College Theatre Department as music director and conductor as well, and in December 2022 conducted and performed six sold-out performances of the musical Cabaret.
Jenny is the Co-Director of the Chamber Music Society at Wellesley College, teaching piano, chamber music, and music theory. She is also on the piano faculty at Groton Hill Music.
