The Chamber Music Society of Wellesley College came into being in the 1958-1959 academic year. It was preceded by an orchestra, which was dropped in favor of CMS. The orchestra conductor, Margaret Duesenberry, directed the program, though she was out on maternity leave the very first year. (Chester Williams, from New England Conservatory, came in to help at that time.) The first concerts were in the dorms after lunch on Sundays. The coaching was done by an academic faculty member for some years with an assistant who was a performing musician in the Boston area. In 1968, a new assistant was needed and the faculty member was on leave. Two new people were hired---a local cellist and bassoonist Isabelle Plaster who is also an alum.
A year or two later, the Music Department had a strong student string quartet and wanted an excellent performer and teacher to coach them. They hired Robert off of the Brandeis faculty who was a former member of the Juilliard String Quartet. After a year in the position, he recommended violinist Nancy Cirillo, a member of the contemporary music ensemble Boston Musica Viva.
In 1986, flutist and alum Suzanne Stumpf (who was Concert Manager for the department at that time) was added to the coaching staff as the membership of CMS expanded. After Nancy Cirillo's retirement after 35 years in 2005, cellist Jan Pfeiffer joined the faculty. Isabelle Plaster retired in 2007 after 39 years of coaching and directing
CMS currently has 25 to 30 groups each semester. Jan Pfeiffer is Director and Suzanne Stumpf is Assistant Director. Various members of the Performing Music Faculty are called upon to coach as needed.