Mayor Pierre Venamme and two aldermen were among the founders on behalf of the city, together with persons who mainly belonged to the music sector (Kamiel D'Hooghe, Jan Briers, Robrecht Dewitte, Herman Sabbe, Canon Paul François, Raymond Van Wassenhove).
Among them are: Gustav Leonhardt, Kamiel D'Hooghe, prof. Marcel Boereboom, prof. Jozef Robijns, Pieter Enriessen and Johan Huys.
From the start they wanted to show the highlights from the city's past and provide a meeting place for specialists, performers, instrument makers, educators, students, and music lovers.
The path had been prepared for this by Safford Cape, who had set the tone for its summer courses with Pro Musica Antiqua since 1961 in Bruges.
Immediately, the emphasis was also placed on these competitions, as the main opportunity to support the vibrancy and image of the festival and to introduce the ideas that the organizers were propagating to the younger generations.
Music making has been complemented by exhibitions and fairs, interpretation courses and master classes, forums, lectures, and guided visits to historic instruments in Flanders.
Partly due to this crisis, in 2021 the organization of the festival was adapted to the situation and the first round of the competition takes place digitally.
The festival annually programs a number of concerts, master classes and workshops on early music.
In 2013, MA Festival was enriched with the new concept VéloBaroque, combining a series of concerts with a bicycle tour through the Bruges countryside.