The Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra consists of fourteen string musicians, members of the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra was founded in 1993 with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia with the purpose of performing on those stages in Slovenia that are unable to accommodate a full symphonic orchestra. During the twenty six years of its existence, the Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, recast as a society in 1999, has given about 400 concerts in Slovenia and abroad. It has performed at the Ljubljana Summer Festival, the Maribor Festival (Musical September Festival), at the Musica Danubiana Festival, the Slovenian Music Days, and in Ljubljana as part of the ISCM World Music Days “Slovenia 2003”. The concerts in Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik Summer Festival), Zadar, Zagreb (the Zagreb Summer Festival and the Zagreb Baroque Festival), Samobor, Opatija (Biennial of Contemporary Music), Novi Sad, Klagenfurt, Ohrid, Podgorica (Festival A Tempo), Gorizia, Trieste, and Madrid (Veranos de la Villa) were received with consistent enthusiasm by both, audiences and critics.
As a society it has stimulated musical creativity, the production of new compositions, score editions, as well as promotional CDs from its onset.
The orchestra has collaborated with numerous Slovene musicians of international acclaim, such as the pianist Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak, flautist Irena Grafenauer, contralto Mirjam Kalin, and other renowned musicians such as cellists Alexander Rudin, Mischa Maisky and Enrico Dindo, counter-tenor Markus Forster, violinists Sarah Chang, Priya Mitchell and Alissa Margulis, pianist Polina Leschenko, hornist Stefan Dohr, flautist Massimo Mercelli, and accordionist Richard Galliano.
In 2009, it has been the Orchestra in Residence at the Maribor Festival under the artistic leadership of Richard Tognetti. It has performed with musicians such as the flautist Emmanuel Pahud, tenorist James Gilchrist, pianists Boris Berezovsky and Melvyn Tan, violinists Arvid Engegard, Atle Spoonberg, Satu Vänskä, Anthony Marwood, soprano Sabina Cvilak, bassoonist Jane Gower, hornist Marie Luise Neunecker, guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski, kaval player Teodosii Spassov, violist Christopher Moore, cellist Timmo Veiko Valve and flautist Eva Nina Kozmus. In 2010 the orchestra became a partner with the public institution Maribor 2012 − the European Capital of Culture.
The orchestra, which performs without a conductor, has recorded a number of live concerts, audio and video recordings, as well as several compact discs. Its repertoire includes all period styles. It dedicates special attention to younger Slovene composers. Dedicated to high quality, the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra is consolidating its reputation in the creative currents of Europe. It received the country’s most prestigious national accolade, the Prešeren Fund Award in 1999, the Župančič Award of the City of Ljubljana in 2004, the Betetto Charter in 2006 and The Ljubljana City award in 2012.
