The history and activity of the orchestra are closely connected with the history of the school founded in 1946. The orchestra’s origins are closely linked to the State Higher School of Music in Łódź, allowing for joint efforts, exchange of teaching staff, and the implementation of diverse musical projects. The years between 1950 and 1955 were a pivotal time when the school’s organizational and programmatic structure began to take shape. It was also a time of significant artistic achievements. Under the direction of Władysław Raczkowski, the orchestra staged excerpts from operas such as G. Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, J. Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann, S. Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, as well as notable works like W.A. Mozart’s Requiem and K. Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater. This initial period set the main course of activities focused on concert performances of major symphonic, choral, and theatrical works. Among these were compositions such as A. Malawski’s Wierchy [Peaks], D. Shostakovich’s Song of the Forests, A. Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, H. Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, S. Moniuszko’s Milda and Crimean Sonnets, A. Vivaldi’s Magnificat, Gloria, and Stabat Mater, M. Zwierzchowski’s Requiem, W.A. Mozart’s Coronation Mass, H.M. Górecki’s Ad Matrem, W. Kilar’s Krzesany, Siwa Mgła [Grey Mist], and Exodus, solo concerts by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, C. Saint-Saëns, K. Kurpiński, and A. Piazzolla.
The other conductors of the orchestra: Zygmunt Gzella, Zdzisław Sołtyszewski, Barbara Sobolczyk, Marta Kosielska, and Grzegorz Wierus, have woven together teaching and ushering young artists into the world of professional concert performance (at least three concerts per school year featuring works from the Baroque to the 21st century). The orchestra has performed at musical venues of the Łódź Opera, the Musical Theater, and the New Theater in Łódź. It also regularly performs on the stage of the A. Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic. The orchestra has embarked on foreign tours and premiered compositions by contemporary Łódź composers, such as Bronisław Kazimierz Przybylski, Krzysztof Grzeszczak, and Artur Zagajewski.
In the recent period, a significant success was the performance of Roman Czubaty’s musical Błękitny zamek [Blue Castle] (at the K. Dejmek New Theater in Łódź), excerpts from Stanisław Moniuszko’s opera Straszny dwór [The Haunted Manor] (at Teatr Wielki in Łódź), as well as participation in the project It Doesn’t End There… The Story of the Children from the Camp on Przemysłowa Street, which included recording the film soundtrack composed by Czesław Mozil. Young musicians have also performed at the La Folle Journée festival in the years 2013–15, 2017–18.