In May 1857, the pianist and conductor Charles Hallé set up an orchestra to perform at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, which it did until October.

Hallé decided to continue working with the orchestra as a formal organisation, and it gave its first concert under those auspices on 30 January 1858.

[2] Over the next 27 years, from 1943 to 1970, the orchestra's next music director, Sir John Barbirolli, restored the Hallé to national prominence.

On 3 February 1946 The Hallé Orchestra and Chorus (conducted by John Barbirolli) performed Aida at Belle Vue, Manchester.

[6] In addition to playing in all parts of the UK, in these years the orchestra visited Germany, Austria, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Southern Rhodesia, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France, Scandinavia, Central and Southern America and the West Indies.

During Barbirolli's tenure, one of the most notable orchestra members was concertmaster Martin Milner, who served in that capacity from 1958 to 1987.

Barbirolli regarded Milner as his "right-hand man" and once wrote in appreciation to him: "You are the finest leader I have ever had in my fairly long career.

[11] In 2001, the Arts Council awarded the orchestra a £3.8 million grant to allow it to pay off accumulated debts and increase musician salaries, which had been frozen for 4 years.

[23] In February 2008, the orchestra announced the appointment of Markus Stenz as its second and next principal guest conductor, starting in 2009.

[28] In February 2023, Elder stated his intention to stand down as music director of the orchestra at the close of the 2023-2024 season.

The HYO regularly work with members of the Hallé Orchestra through workshops, and each summer undertake a tour.

[49][50] Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate, wrote a poem "the event horizon" to commemorate the opening of its extension, the Oglesby Centre in 2019, and the poem is included in the building "in the form of a letter-cut steel plate situated in the entrance to the auditorium, the 'event horizon'".

[51] Hallé at St Michael's is another converted church, used as a space for artistic and educational activities and community events.