The city's first symphony orchestra, it ceased operations at the start of World War I, as many of the musicians were sent to military service.

In the same year, businessman and philanthropist R. Crosby Kemper, Jr. and other Kansas City businessmen, including Hallmark Cards chairman and chief executive officer Donald J.

Hall, Sr. and H&R Block co-founder Henry W. Bloch, provided funds for the formation of the second iteration of the Kansas City Symphony.

From 1999 to 2003, Anne Manson was music director of the orchestra, the first female conductor to hold the post.

During her tenure, in 2002, the orchestra participated in the development of the 'Concert Companion', led by then-executive director Roland Valliere.