Now in its twenty-ninth season, the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society has emerged as one of New York's most pre-eminent organizations devoted to new music performance. With its move in 1988 to midtown halls (Merkin Concert Hall and Weill Hall), and a roster of first-rate nationally known free-lance musicians, the series has attracted a large, loyal following, and has become regularly reviewed by the city's major newspapers, and magazines. The society's concerts have been the subject of feature columns in the New Yorker, and critics from the New York Times, New York Newsday, the Village Voice and others have heralded its concerts - some including such notable guest performers as Fred Sherry, Rolf Schulte, and Robert Taub - as "best of season" events.

The three concert series featured each year emphasizes close contact between performers and the composers whose works are being performed. Composers regularly come from across the country to attend performances of their works on WSCMS concerts, and to oversee preparation of their music. The artisic directors of the series, composers Brian Fennelly and Louis Karchin, program a mix of works by prominent composers and works by professional composers who are just now emerging. The series emphasizes premieres, and has recently garnered the New York premieres of such works as Charles Wuorinen's Horn Trio and Horn Trio Continued , Milton Babbitt's Mehr Du , Wayne Peterson's, Diptych , Fred Lerdahl's Time after Time , and Elliott Carter's Remembering Aaron , among others. The series endeavors to present works representing many different styles, and has performed music ranging stylistically from John Adams and John Cage to George Perle and Pierre Boulez. In 1996, the Society was selected to present concerts at Harvard University and Columbia University as part of the "Consortium Concert Series".

The core ensemble of the Society is comprised of the following musicians:
Jayn Rosenfeld, flute
Patricia Spencer, flute
Jean Kopperud, clarinet
William Purvis, Fr. horn
Dominic Donato, percussion
William Anderson, guitar
James Winn, piano
Eliza Garth, piano
Marilyn Nonken, piano
Steven Gosling, piano
Curtis Macomber, violin
Deborah Wong, violin
Lois Martin, viola
Chris Finckel, cello
Gregory Hesselinck, cello
Cheryl Marshall, soprano
Christine Schadeberg, soprano

Paul Hostetter, conductor
David Gilbert, conductor
Louis Karchin, conductor