It was founded in 1984 by Ian Hobson, a noted pianist who in 1981 was awarded the First Prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition.
In addition to performing the standard repertoire from baroque to modern music, Ian Hobson and Sinfonia da Camera frequently present compositions by composers that are performed less often and a world premiere by a contemporary composer or a newly made orchestration of an earlier work.
The orchestra was formed in September 1984 and performed two concerts that season in the Great Hall of the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois and at Lake Land College in Mattoon.
[9] In 2011 the Albany label released a Sinfonia recording of another American composer, William Schuman, during his centenary year.
Recordings of recent concerts are broadcast on "Prairie Performances" on select Fridays by WILL-FM Radio.