The inspiration for Stevenson and McCall Smith was the enjoyment that their children were having with their school orchestras.
[1] They could not find such an orchestra, and formed the RTO as a result, with Richard Neville Towle as its conductor.
McCall Smith has expressed the low quality of the orchestra's playing very directly:[2] The name was carefully chosen: what it said was what you would get.Aside from their yearly concerts at the Edinburgh Fringe, the orchestra also features in the novel The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith.
In the foyer of the Canongate Kirk, an Edinburgh church and their regular venue, the orchestra sells CDs of their performances.
[3][4] On 1 April 2009, the RTO travelled to the United States and played at the New York Town Hall on its first (one-date) overseas tour.