It was originally the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, which was founded in 1893 as a small group of wind players. It quickly expanded to become a full orchestra and gained a name for championing contemporary British music.
It changed names in 1954, while Charles Groves was its principal conductor (he held the post from 1951 to 1961). Its other principal conductors include Constantin Silvestri (1961-69), Paavo Berglund (1972-79), and Rudolf Barshay (1983-88). From September 2002 Marin Alsop, formerly music director of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, is its principal conductor.
The orchestra currently gives around 150 concerts a year. It also makes recordings, with its recording of Deryck Cooke's completion of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 10, conducted by Simon Rattle, being very highly acclaimed.
In 1968, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, a spin-off of the full orchestra, was founded.