Founded in 1976 by Margaret Hawkins at the request of then-MSO music director Kenneth Schermerhorn, it was originally called the Wisconsin Conservatory Symphony Chorus and filled a need for the MSO to have a chorus of consistent quality.
It became the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus in 1985, upon coming under the auspices of the MSO.
The chorus consists of some 150 auditioned voices from various backgrounds, with certain members making up a specially-auditioned professional core along with a small number of alternate core members.
In May 2017, the Milwaukee Symphony named Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill, associate conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the new director of the chorus, who began her tenure during the 2017-2018 season.
The chorus has worked with world-renowned conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Nicholas McGegan, Grant Llewellyn, James Conlon, Christopher Seaman, Andreas Delfs, and Doc Severinsen, as well as former MSO music director Edo de Waart and MSO principal Pops conductor Marvin Hamlisch.