Instrumental in these talks were the conductors of the two orchestras, Alfredo Antonini of the Tampa Philharmonic and Thomas Briccetti of the St. Petersburg Symphony.

The merger became official two years later, and the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony opened its first season on November 14, 1968, under the baton of 43-year-old Music Director Irwin Hoffman, who had previously guest conducted the Tampa Philharmonic.

Ling brought the orchestra into the international spotlight as he led them in the performance of the U.S. national anthem with Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV before a worldwide audience of 750 million.

In June 2012, the orchestra named Jeff Tyzik its new principal pops conductor, effective with the 2012–2013 season, with an initial contract of three years.

[9] In the fall of 2011, The Florida Orchestra announced its Accessibility Initiative, which effectively reduced ticket prices to all of its Masterworks and Pops concerts.

[10] Due to this initiative, as well as the programming on the 2011–2012 season, the orchestra saw a marked growth in subscriptions and single tickets, with a combined increase in paid attendance of 15%.

[11] The anthem, composed by Gregory Smith, was accompanied by video footage of the Lightning and The Florida Orchestra as the hockey team took the ice at every home game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum during the 2011–2012 season.

In addition to the Lightning's new song, the orchestra worked with the hockey team to create a variety of youth concerts for children in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties during the 2011–2012 school year.

[13] After several months of communications with Cuba's Music Institute of Havana (Instituto de Música de La Habana), The Florida Orchestra Wind Quintet performed in Havana at the end of September 2011, which was the first time since 1999 that a professional American orchestra had sent musicians to Cuba and only the second time since the 1959 revolution.

[16] The orchestra released its CD on the Naxos label in the fall of 2012 featuring music by Florida-influenced classical composer Frederick Delius.

The recording includes The Florida Orchestra, The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, and baritone Leon Williams in a performance of Delius' Sea Drift and Appalachia.