The Winchester Orchestra was founded in 1999 by its music director and board members. In the late 1960s, West Valley College founded a symphony orchestra under music director George Champion, and later, under the baton of Ross Bergantz. Many community members joined the group at that time, and it evolved into a non-profit group in the early 1980s. Disbanded in 1985, several members of the group joined the new Santa Clara University Orchestra, which was being formed at the time under music director Henry Mollicone. The organization left that university in 1999 and became The Winchester Orchestra, an independent non-profit community orchestra. In 2014, the baton was passed to Michael DiGiacinto, who served as music director and conductor through the orchestra’s 2017-2018 season. Guest conductors led the group during the 2018-2019 season, and subsequently Scott Seaton was selected to lead the orchestra going forward.