The orchestra was founded by Ernest Powell in 1941, when a group of musicians gathered to perform Handel's Messiah.
The group carried on and grew to become the South Birmingham Orchestra, performing concerts to support wartime charities.
The high point of this period was a performance of Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand at the Royal Albert Hall in 1984.
He was succeeded in 1994 by Michael Lloyd of English National Opera, who is the current Music Director.
The BPO typically performs 12-15 concerts each year in Birmingham and the surrounding area.