The SPO has seen a great deal of change in the three decades since its creation in 1980 by Clifford Poole. From the beginning until now it has been a community orchestra comprised of a core of professional musicians, along with a diverse collection of amateur musicians of all ages, including students, seniors, retired musicians, and music educators. In 1985, Maestro Poole left to form Scarborough’s second orchestra, the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony, itself celebrating 25 seasons in 2010. Although the size of the orchestra was diminished by this split into two ensembles, the SPO grew and revitalized under the leadership of five Music Directors beginning with Christopher Kitts, surviving financial difficulties through the years. In 1994, the SPO introduced its successful Composer-in-Residence program, leading to the commissioning of new works from Canadian composers including Donald Coakley, Barbara Croall, Chan Ka Nin, John Estacio, Omar Daniel, Ronald Royer and Vince Gassi.

During the 2009/10 season, the Scarborough Philharmonic welcomed our new Music Director, Ronald Royer, who shared the podium with several former Music Directors of the SPO: John Barnum, Christopher Kitts and Jerome Summers.