The organization of chapters is described in Article XI of the By-Laws. A “group of at least ten members of the Society in one locality” may seek recognition as a chapter of the Society, by applying to the secretary, who refers it to the Council, which advises the Board. Chapters schedule their own meetings, elect their own officers (no fewer than two, a chair or president and a secretary or secretary-treasurer) to overlapping terms, and oversee their own membership so as not to accept anyone who is not a member of the Society. Chapters may not issue their own publications in the name of the Society or the chapter itself without permission of the Board. Each chapter shall adopt its own Guidelines or By-Laws, as described in Article XI.4 of the Society’s By-Laws. Chapters shall report each year to the Secretary about their activities and financial operations, and will be eligible for money grants authorized by the Board for particular projects (see Chapter Activities Committee).
Fifteen regional chapters are now associated with the Society; thirteen are active. Upon joining the Society, members are enrolled by default in their regional chapter. Chapter boundaries are determined according to Zip or Postal Code in the U.S. and Canada. Members who reside beyond the U.S. and Canada are not enrolled in a chapter.
Chapters each elect one member to the Council, to serve a three-year term. Chapters also elect two doctoral-student representatives to the Council, to serve overlapping two-year terms as non-voting members; thus one is elected each year. The travel of student representatives to the Annual Meeting is subsidized through the Chapter Fund (see II.C.3.c). Chapter officers and student representatives attend separate breakfast meetings at the Annual Meeting.
The activities of study groups and affiliate societies at the Annual Meeting, especially of concern when they offer panel and paper sessions, fall under the purview of the Board Committee on the Annual Meeting. Guidelines and assessments for such groups will be developed by that committee.
a. The Society recognizes a number of “Study Groups,” which schedule business meetings and panel discussions during the time slots of the Annual Meeting outside of those scheduled by the Program Committee for papers, normally at lunchtime or in the evening. They may also submit proposals to the Program Committee for a daytime session utilizing an alternative format.
b. Formation of Study Groups. Groups of members that share common research interests and wish to be recognized as AMS Study Groups must apply to the Board. An application should include a statement of rationale, information of the group’s activities prior to making the formal application (if applicable), the names of the primary organizers, a list of active members, and a bibliography. The rationale should be persuasive in terms of the need for an ongoing study group for the subject. All primary organizers of study groups sponsored by our Society must be AMS members. There should be at least ten active participants and a broad and diverse membership in terms of career stage and institutional representation. [List of Study Groups and their Web sites]
c. Study Groups’ ongoing activities. Study groups must present an annual report to the Board of Directors each year in February. It should include membership information (names, report of changes over time) and a description of activities over the previous year (not to exceed 400 words). The description should include Annual Meeting activities, and may include other information (e.g. web site, email discussion list, e-journal, other meetings, etc.) as appropriate.
d. Study Group bookkeeping. The AMS Office will assist Study Groups in their banking needs as necessary.
Affiliate societies are those that meet to transact business during the Annual Meeting; these affiliations are largely informal, and no guidelines regulating such affiliations have been drawn up. These societies include the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music, the Society for Eighteenth-Century Music, the Mozart Society of America, the American Bach Society, and the American Brahms Society. Other organizations, such as Center for the History of Music Theory and Literature at Indiana University, occasionally hold board meetings during the Annual Meeting.
Other groups of this type may form from time to time, such as the Musical Literacy and History of Pedagogy Consortium. There is currently no mechanism for “recognizing” such groups.