The orchestra gives concerts at the Funkhaus Halberg and the Congresshalle in Saarbrücken, and at the Fruchthalle in Kaiserslautern.
In 1951, Emmerich Smola established the Rundfunkorchester Kaiserslautern for the Südwestfunk (Southwest Radio).
With the consolidation of two German broadcasting networks, the Südwestfunk and SDR into the newly formed SWR, two separate orchestras from the former parent networks, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken of the Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR) and the Rundfunkorchester Kaiserslautern of the Südwestrundfunk were consolidated into a single ensemble, and given the new name of Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern (DRP) (2007).
[1] In September 2016, the orchestra announced the appointment of Pietari Inkinen as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.
[2] In January 2024, the orchestra announced simultaneously the scheduled departure of Inkinen as its chief conductor at the close of the 2024–2025 season,[3] and the appointment of Josep Pons as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025–2026 season.