The Missoula Symphony Association was organized in 1954 with Eugene Andrie as its founding conductor. The orchestra personnel was comprised of townspeople, University of Montana music faculty members, and U of M students. A Board of Directors was formed and a constitution and by-laws were adopted. The first concert was performed on April 3, 1955.

At this time, the U.S. launched the world's first atom-powered submarine, the Nautilus, and conducted thermonuclear tests on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The news personality of the year was Senator Mike Mansfield, who shared the spotlight with Governor Hugh Aronson. Missoula County issued 14,411 passenger car licenses, and today's "malfunction junction" was controlled by five little red stop signs.

In March of 1956, the Missoula Symphony Orchestra was accepted as a member of the American Symphony Orchestra League and the Women's Association, now the Symphony Guild, was organized. The Missoula Symphony Chorale was organized in 1962 with George Lewis as founding conductor. The Missoula Symphony Association was formed in 1976 and obtained its 501c3 status that year.

Now celebrating its 56th season, the Association has grown to a current operating budget of just under $400,000. It employs a full-time Music Director, a full-time Executive Director, a part-time Operations Coordinator and a part-time Administrative Assistant. The concert season has grown to a five-concert season and each concert features two performances. The eighty member orchestra is conducted by Music Director Darko Butorac, and the one hundred member chorale is conducted by Dean Peterson.

In addition to the regular concert season, every year the orchestra performs an enormous free outdoor Summer Concert in August in downtown Missoula, performs two Youth Concerts each year for 2,000 fourth grade students, performs a sold-out annual Family Concert, and provides educational performances in Missoula schools and in outlying communities. The Association holds a biennial Young Artist Competition which regularly draws entries from all over the United States. The Missoula Symphony Chorale traveled to Europe at the invitation of choirs in Vienna, Austria for performances in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2002.

The Association continues to grow both artistically and financially as it begins its second half-century of progress.