In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving communities throughout Utah.

The orchestra accompanies the Utah Opera in four productions per year at Salt Lake's Capitol Theatre.

[2] By 1940, federal funding for arts projects had ceased, so local enthusiasts formed the Utah State Symphony Orchestra on April 4, 1940, with Fred E. Smith as president.

The resulting concert was so successful that the group offered Henriot a contract to direct the orchestra.

including complete symphony cycles of Mahler and of Tchaikovsky, as well as works by Varese, Milhaud, Gottschalk, Honegger, and Satie.

Educational concerts were given on orchestra tours across the Intermountain West and at home in the Salt Lake Valley.

Successors to Abravanel included Varujan Kojian (1980–1983), Joseph Silverstein (1983–1998), and Keith Lockhart (1998–2009).

[3] Contemporary works commissioned by the orchestra during Fischer's tenure have included EOS (Goddess of the Dawn) by Augusta Read Thomas and the percussion concerto Switch by Andrew Norman.

[5] In May 2019, the orchestra announced that Fischer is to conclude his tenure as its music director at the end of his current contract, at the close of the 2021–2022 season.

[14] In December 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Robertson as its first-ever creative partner, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with a contract of 3 years.

[17] In November 2024, the Utah Symphony announced the appointment of Poschner as its next music director, effective with the 2027-2028 season.