Founded in 2007 by Andrew Barker (University of Birmingham), Alan C. Bowen (PrincetonUniversity), David Creese (University of British Columbia, now University of Newcastle), Donatella Restani (DBC,
UNIBO, Eleonora Rocconi (Università di Pavia), the Society shall promote the preservation, interpretation, and valorization of ancient Greek and Roman music and musical theory, as well as its cultural heritage to the present day. The aims of the Society are as follows: to foster interdisciplinary research (especially of an nature) concerning music and its place in ancient Greek and Roman society and
culture; to provide a census of the ancient musical property from the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and their cultural heritage in public institutions, private collections and foundations; to
promote the study and circulation of the musical property deriving from ancient Greece and Rome; to carry out ethnomusicological research projects in order to document ancient musical practices as they appear in traditional music; to carry out the study of the heritage of Greek and Roman musical practice and theory; to organize and host an annual meeting for the communication of news and research among members of the Society, and to conduct the Society’s business; to foster communication among members by every means; to coordinate national and international research projects and groups in the field and to cooperate with other study groups and associations, universities, music schools and public schools to develop the study of ancient Greek and Roman music and its cultural heritage
The Society’s registered head office is in Ravenna, at the Dipartimento di Beni Culturali. MOISA has organized 11 annual meetings (Ravenna, Cremona, Ravenna, Lecce, Salerno, Agrigento, Urbino,
Newcastle, Athens, Oxford, Reading); from 2015 an annual panel within the SCS annual meeting (New Orleans, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston); annual seminars (2014-2017 Università di Trento); from 2014 an annual summer school at Riva del Garda. In 2018 its activities were acknowledged with the prize "Comunicare l'Antico".
Staff DBC: Donatella Restani (coordinatore DBC, coofondatore, membro del primo Executive board (2007-2010); attualmente membro ordinario); Maddalena Roversi; Šarūnas Šavėla (dottorando).