[2] Conductor Armand Diangienda founded the orchestra in 1994 after losing his job as an airline pilot, naming it after his grandfather, religious leader Simon Kimbangu.
[4] In May 2013 it was announced that Diangienda was to become an honorary member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, an award previously bestowed on such famous musicians as Mendelssohn, Rossini, Wagner, Brahms and Stravinsky.
The musicians of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, moved by the OSK’s determination, hosted a dinner in their honor, strengthening international ties for future collaborations.
On April 1, 2017, the partnership between Monaco and Kinshasa deepened further, as the OSK joined the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo for a Beethoven concert at the Rainier III Auditorium.
This marked the first time an Central African orchestra had ever performed this iconic piece, demonstrating the OSK's growing artistic capabilities and significance on the global classical music stage.