April 1954

• A group of music enthusiasts gathered in Santa Ana to discuss a way to bring great music to Orange County and formed the Orange County Philharmonic Society

May 22, 1954

• The newly formed Philharmonic Society sponsors the Orange County Philharmonic Orchestra with Frieda Belinfante conducting at Santa Ana High School. The program consisted of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” Overture, Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1. LA Times article

1954

• Committee chairmen plan preliminary activities of the Orange County Philharmonic Society at the home of Mrs. Elaine G. Mittleman.
• The Women's Committees present the first countywide Youth Programs Benefit Fashion Show.
• The First Women's Committee, Beacon Bay, meets for the first time.
• Frieda Belinfante conducts first "Concerts for Youth" at Orange Coast College Auditorium and Fullerton High School.

1955

• Belinfante conducts six free concerts at halls throughout the county.

1956

• The Philharmonic Society introduces its youth program with concerts at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa and at Fullerton High School. 

1960

• Premiere of Lorne Huycke's Monument Valley Symphonic Poem, performed by Orange County Philharmonic Orchestra.
• United States premiere of Hovey's Scottish-American Fantasy for Orchestra and Chorus, composed for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, performed by Orange County Philharmonic Orchestra and Chapman College Madrigal Singers at Orange Coast College.

1961

• The Philharmonic Society Board of Directors votes to shut down the orchestra despite Belinfante’s protests, and to become exclusively a presenting organization.

1962

• The Philharmonic Society presents its first concert by an outside orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, directed by Zubin Mehta. The concert is held at the Robert B. Moore Theatre at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. 

1963

• The Philharmonic Society sponsors its first Concert on the Green at UC Irvine’s campus park. Appearing is the San Diego Symphony, led by John Scott Trotter, guest conductor and piano soloist.
• Huntington Harbour Philharmonic Committee launches the first holiday boat parade, Cruise of Lights.
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra makes its debut with Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting at Melodyland.

1964

• London Symphony Orchestra makes its debut with Colin Davis conducting at Orange Coast College.

1965

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra makes its debut with Jean Martinon conducting at Melodyland.

1966

• Cleveland Orchestra makes its debut with George Szell conducting at University of California, Irvine.

1967

• Detroit Symphony Orchestra makes its debut with Sixten Ehrling conducting at Orange Coast College.
• Philadelphia Orchestra makes its debut with Eugene Ormandy conducting at University of California, Irvine.

1969

• Pittsburgh Symphony makes its debut with William Steinberg conducting at Orange Coast College.
• Seven college music majors from University of California, Irvine and Orange Coast College are recipients of scholarships presented by the Philharmonic Society.

1970

• The Philharmonic Society offers ten completely free "Concerts for Youth" programs per year to children of Orange County.
• A seven-concert subscription series is offered.

1971

• The Philharmonic Society wins its first of nine consecutive Disneyland Community Service Awards for its music education programs.
• Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, makes its debut with Robert Benzi conducting.

1972

• London Philharmonic Orchestra makes its debut with Erich Leinsdorf conducting.

1973

• Zubin Mehta is honored by the Philharmonic Society for "ten years of togetherness," having conducted 30 of the 52 Los Angeles Philharmonic concerts in Orange County.
• Dallas Symphony Orchestra makes its debut with Anshel Brusilow conducting.
• In-School Music Enrichment program for fourth graders begins, sending professional musicians into classrooms across the county.

1974

• The Society expands its free in-school chamber concerts.
• Maestro Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in a benefit for youth concerts at Crawford Hall.
• The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra makes its debut with Mendi Rodan conducting.
• The Philharmonic Society introduces the Music Mobile, allowing thousands of third graders to enjoy a "hands-on" experience with instruments.

1975

• Videotapes for educational music use are instituted in all elementary schools by Floss Schumacher.
• Utah Symphony makes its debut with Maurice Abravanel conducting.

1976

• The Philharmonic Society moves all its concerts to Santa Ana High School.

1978

• Ending 16 years as music director, Zubin Mehta leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Santa Ana High School and informs the audience that a new concert hall is needed in Orange County.
• The first Jane Gray Porter Scholarship Competition is held at Chapman College.
• New Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Carlo Maria Giulini makes his Orange County debut.
• Minnesota Orchestra makes its debut with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting.

1979

• The directors of the Orange County Performing Arts Center accept five acres of land in South Coast Plaza Town Center from Henry Segerstrom.

• Music History is added to the many youth programs in place.

1982

• "Musical Encounter" programs begin, identifying musically gifted young children and providing them performance opportunities.
• The first Golden Baton Award is presented to Henry Segerstrom by Floss Schumacher.
• San Francisco Symphony makes its debut with Edo de Waart conducting.
• Robert Elias is named the first executive director of the Philharmonic Society.

1983

• The Philharmonic Society expands its concert presentations to three series for the upcoming season.
• The first annual "Cuisine Fantasy" fundraiser is jointly presented by the Irvine and Las Canciones Women's Committees.
• Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
• Los Angeles Philharmonic presents Davies' Black Pentecost in its Orange County debut at Santa Ana High School.

1984

• "Musical Reinvestment" is instituted to allow the Women's Committees to use a percentage of the funds they raise to support programs in their local school districts.
• Disneyland joins with the Philharmonic Society to present "Disneyland Salutes the American Band" as a pilot program throughout eight school districts.
• Erich Vollmer is named executive director of the Philharmonic Society.

1985

• The first Imagination Celebration is presented.

1986

• The Philharmonic Society presents the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Kurt Sanderling conducting during the opening week of concerts at the new Orange County Performing Arts Center.
• The Women's Committees present 24 Youth Concerts in the new Performing Arts Center and reach an unprecedented 70,000 students.

1987

• The Philharmonic Society expands, offering three series, two Great Orchestra series and a new “International Artists” series. 
• The Women's Committees collaborate with Orange County Museum of Art for the first integrated art and music experience for high school students.
• Esa-Pekka Salonen makes his Orange County directorial debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Santa Ana High School.

1988

• The Philharmoncic Society adds a fourth series, which combines recitals and orchestral programs.
• The New World Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting, begins the Philharmonic Society sponsored "New World Music Festival."
• The Women's Committees present "Little Prince" ballet with the integrated curriculum preparation materials.
• The Women's Committees receive the George Washington Medal of Honor in the category of programs and activities in recognition of their outstanding youth programs.
• The Philharmonic Society's first "High School Night" is held at the Performing Arts Center with the Sydney Symphony performing.
• The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta conducting, makes its Orange County debut at the Performing Arts Center.

1989

• The Philharmonic Society announces 24 concerts in four series, its largest number of offerings to date.

1990

• The Women's Committees present the first "Philharmonic House of Design".
• The Society presents the Golden Baton Award to Zubin Mehta.

1993

• Dean Corey is named executive director of the Philharmonic Society.
• The opening of the International Artists Series features Mariachi artist Nati Cano.
• World premiere of James Hopkins’, “Songs of Eternity,” commissioned by Dr. Edward and Helen Shanbrom in memory of David Lee Shanbrom.

1994

• The 40th season Golden Baton Gala is held at the Four Seasons Hotel Newport Beach, honoring all former winners of the Golden Baton Award.
• The Committees present the first K-1 program, "Music and Movement."

July 1995

• The Philharmonic Society board of directors officially approves the name change to Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

1995

• The Philharmonic Society presents mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in her Orange County debut recital at the Performing Arts Center.

1996

• Mark Morris Dance Group and Handel & Haydn Society perform "Orfeo ed Euridice" in a co-presentation with Opera Pacific.
• Baritone Bryn Terfel performs in west coast premiere recital at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
• The Philharmonic Society receives the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts Distinguished Achievement Award.
• Major grant received from the Anderson Family Foundation for supporting great orchestras and music education.

1997

• Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Daniel Barenboim performs for the first time at the Performing Arts Center.

November 1998

• Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting, opens the Philharmonic Society's seven-month Beethoven Festival.

1999

• Exhibition "Musical Treasures from The Age of Revolution & Romance" opens at the Bowers Museum of Art with instruments from the collections of America's Shrine to Music Museum and The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San Jose State University, including first editions of symphonies and autographed letters of Beethoven.
• The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden makes its North American concert debut.
• John Eliot Gardiner's Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir perform all nine of Beethoven's symphonies and close the Beethoven Festival.
• The Philharmonic Society receives the Arts Orange County award for Outstanding Achievement in Music.
• Eclectic Orange Festival is born, a new mix of music and ideas in twenty-five performances of seventeen events.
• Poetry of Earth/Oedipus Rex, a project conceptualized and designed by Dean Corey, is performed with Leonard Slatkin conducting the National Symphony and the Pacific Chorale.
• Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, music director, makes its Southern California debut with Purcell's "King Arthur" in a semi-staged presentation.

2000

• Cruzando Fronteras, or Crossing Borders, is presented to sixth graders featuring the music of Mexican composers, drawing parallels between American and Mexican music.
• Philip Glass' Symphony No. 5 opens the 2000-2001 Eclectic Orange Festival with the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale, Carl St.Clair conducting.
• The west coast premiere of "Failing Kansas", conceived, written and directed by Mikel Rouse, is presented as part of the Eclectic Orange Festival.

2001

• Eclectic Orange Festival opens with the Mark Morris production of Rameau's "Platée," Nicholas McGegan conducting the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Pacific Chorale's John Alexander Singers.
• Berlin Philharmonic appears in its Orange County premiere under the baton of Claudio Abbado, performing works of Beethoven and Wagner at the Performing Arts Center.
• The Committees receive the Arts Orange County award for Outstanding Support Group.
• Tan Dun's "Crouching Tiger" premieres at the Barclay's Cheng Hall.
• The United States premiere of "SOON," written and directed by Hal Hartley, is performed in Founders Hall at the Performing Arts Center.

2002

• Eclectic Orange Festival opens with Théâtre Zingaro's "Triptyk," a unique equestrian theatre never before seen on the west coast.
• The west coast premiere of "La Pasión Según San Marcos" by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov is presented as part of the Eclectic Orange Festival.
• The Committees present the first residency at Muir School in Santa Ana.
• The Orquestra de São Paulo makes its United States debut.

2003

• The first Laguna Beach Chamber Music Festival is presented, a collaboration with Laguna Beach Music Society, Laguna Beach Live! and the Philharmonic Society.
• Eclectic Orange Festival opens with the premiere of "Sun Rings" at the Performing Arts Center. The work is commissioned by NASA, composed by Terry Riley, and performed by Kronos Quartet and the Pacific Chorale's John Alexander Singers.
• The Philharmonic Society receives the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts Distinguished Achievement Award.

2004

• Royal Concertgebouw salutes the dedication and commitment of the Philharmonic Society's founders, including original founder Frieda Belinfante, with Herbert Blomstedt conducting a concert of Mozart and Tchaikovsky.
• The Mormon Tabernacle Choir makes its Orange County debut at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
• Orange County premiere of John Adam’s, “The Dharma at Big Sur,” performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The work is co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Philharmonic Society with the generous support of Mr. Edward Halvajian, as a part of the 50th anniversary celebration.

2006

• The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall opens as a new artistic home for the Philharmonic Society. Artists presented in the hall's first year include the Salzburg Mozarteum, Kirov Orchestra, New York Philharmonic with Lorin Maazel, Philadelphia Orchestra, pianists Ivo Pogorelich and Murray Perahia, Kronos Quartet, and Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band.

2009

• Philharmonic Society presents the West Coast edition of Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture—marking the first time that Carnegie Hall's live festival programming was offered to audiences outside New York City. The partnership continued the following season with JapanOC.

2014

• The Philharmonic Society presents Beethoven: The Late Great, a musical exploration and community-wide celebration of Beethoven and his final years, offering a variety of activities spanning multiple art genres. Activities included concerts, exhibitions, film screenings, and lectures.

2015

• The Philharmonic Society becomes a Commissioning Partner for the Kronos Quartet's initiative 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Kronos’ 50 for the Future commissioned a collection of 50 new works—ten per year for five years—devoted to the most recent approaches to the string quartet, designed expressly for the training of students and emerging professionals. All of Kronos’ 50 for the Future project materials—including scores and parts—will be distributed online and made available at no charge, in perpetuity. 

2018

• Tommy Phillips is named President & Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Society.

2020

• Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philharmonic Society presents 50 virtual concerts, including performances by the organization's inaugural Virtual Artists-in-Residence violinist Hilary Hahn and sibling duo Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, reaching audiences in more than 100 countries all over the world.

2021

• The first Triumph Over Adversity Festival is held virtually, featuring artistic directors Anthony and Demarre McGill. The Festival continues in-person in 2023 with Davóne Tines as artistic director.