The orchestra was formed shortly after the demise of both the Halifax Symphony Orchestra and New Brunswick Symphony Orchestra. This left Canada's Atlantic region without a full-time professional symphony orchestra. The ASO was established by joint committees in Halifax, Sydney, Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton on 12 June 1968.[2][3] Many of the committee members had been previously associated with the two disbanded orchestras.[4]
The new orchestra's first conductor was Klaro Mizerit; he led the orchestra from 1968 until 1977. With an emphasis on Canadian compositions,[5] the orchestra made several commercial recordings in the 1970s and was featured on many broadcasts on CBC Radio.[6]
Conductor Victor Yampolsky led the orchestra from 1977 until 1983,[7] at which time it was disbanded because of financial problems. A smaller group, Symphony Nova Scotia, continued to perform with some of the same musicians.[8]
