The Ensemble Music Society presents the oldest continuous chamber music concert series in Indiana. Organized to encourage public presentation of , amateur violinist Leonard Strauss, who also had helped establish the in 1929, suggested creation of the society during dinner conversation in December 1943. Strauss and a core of local music enthusiasts presented the society’s first concert on April 12, 1944, with the Musical Art Quartet, drawing close to 500 people to the Indiana World War Memorial auditorium.
Strauss served as the society’s first president. By the second season, the society’s subscription-only membership had a waiting list as it quickly gained a reputation for presenting the best in contemporary chamber music.
The organization has continued to work to bring internationally known touring and recording artists to Indianapolis. Notable performers have included the Budapest Quartet, Julliard String Quartet, Tokyo Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Amadeus Quartet, Beaux Arts Trio, New York String Sextet, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Miró Quartet, and the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quartet.
No longer an exclusive members-only group, the society usually presents four concerts each season. The society also promotes music education throughout Indianapolis with lectures and demonstrations.
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