SNO performs each year in musical venues in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, at Morgan State University, and across the city.

[1][2] Symphony Number One was founded in 2015 by Jordan Randall Smith, Nicholas Bentz, and Sean Meyers, all of whom were graduate and undergraduate students at the Peabody Institute.

[10][11][12] In September 2016, Symphony Number One began its second season with compositions by Richard Strauss, Mahler, and Steve Reich.

[16] Symphony Number One emphasizes inclusionary policies in orchestra membership, audience access, and selection of featured composers.

[39][40] More recently, Symphony Number One performed at TEDxMidAtlantic 2017 in Washington, D.C.[41][42] SNO offers several programs to engage with a variety of audiences in Baltimore as well as to work with composers internationally.

[50] In addition to freely releasing live performances of individual compositions, SNO records albums on its own custom label, SNOtone.