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.
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.