The orchestra's players are professional musicians drawn from the rich pool of classical musicians in the Los Angeles region, many of whom work as session players for film, television and audio recording in the entertainment industry, and play for other area orchestras as well.
The orchestra is the resident company of 2 concert halls: the 1,500-seat Oxnard Performing Arts Center, and the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Antoine Predock-designed Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks.
The organization offers six of classical programs annually with multiple concerts, with international guest artists usually featured soloists, as well as New West principal players upon occasion.
Its founding music director was Boris Brott, whose programming emphasized the 19th and 20th century symphonic repertoire.
The organization went through a financial crisis around 2008, and musicians took pay cuts to help the New West to survive.