Founded in 1969 with the purpose of accompanying the Coro San Marco della Concattedrale di Pordenone, the Orchestra initially operated within the regional territory before soon expanding its activity to a broader symphonic repertoire, gaining recognition in numerous Italian cities including Venice (at the Basilica dei Frari and the Biennale Musica), Treviso, Bolzano, Padua, Trieste, and Turin. The Orchestra has also performed in Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Its repertoire spans music from all periods, alternating well-known works with lesser-known yet equally important compositions worthy of attention, from Baroque to contemporary music, from the Viennese Classical tradition to the great Romantic composers, from twentieth-century masterpieces to more recent crossovers between classical and lighter styles. Over the years, distinguished conductors such as W. Themel, E. Casazza, F. Belli, E. De Nadai, F. Krager, Antonio Ballista, Lior Shambadal, Federico Maria Bressan, and Ivan Vlainić have appeared with the Orchestra. Among the featured soloists are Lucia Degani, Alberto Nadin, Simone Braconi, Stefano Piciri, Oreste Cristofori, Giuseppe Pellarin, Massimiliano Candotti, Andrea Oliva, Fabio Di Rosa, and Andrea Zucco.
In 2023, Maestro Ben Palmer was appointed Principal Conductor of the Orchestra. A British conductor named Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, he previously served as Principal Conductor of the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck and the Babylon Orchester Berlin, and is founder and Artistic Director of the Covent Garden Sinfonia. He is also internationally recognised as one of the leading specialists in live cinema conducting.
Following the tradition of many orchestras, chamber groups formed by principal players from the different sections are also active within the ensemble, developing independent concert programmes in collaboration with distinguished soloists. These include string and wind quartets and quintets, brass ensembles, percussion groups, and mixed ensembles.
Among the many cultural projects carried out with important partners, particular mention should be made of the Bach Cantata cycle together with the Coro del Friuli Venezia Giulia, as well as the Orchestra’s long-standing participation in the Le Giornate del Cinema Muto.
Since 2020, the Artistic Director has been Maestro Federico Lovato.
