In 1903, under the direction of the royal chamber musician August Wilhelm Schulze, music-loving gentlemen from Biebrich and Wiesbaden met in the "Alte Adolfshöhe" to make music together, initially under the name "Höhenorchester" or "Höhenkapelle", later as the "Wiesbadener Dilettantenorchester". In 1916, the association gave itself the name "Wiesbadener Orchesterverein 03".

In 1922, Dr. Richard Tanner (1878-1945), Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater, took over as musical director. The focus became classical music, which had been neglected until then. He was succeeded by concertmaster Oskar Brückner, another experienced musician. At the beginning of the Second World War, the board decided to let the association rest after no concerts had been held since 1934 due to a sharp decline in membership.

Efforts to reactivate the association after the war were initially in vain, as there were too few interested parties and the association was also struggling financially. Albert Störring and Johannes Merz came to the rescue. Both had founded a small orchestra, the "Wiesbadener Orchestergemeinschaft", and managed to ensure that the "Wiesbadener Orchesterverein 03" could be taken over with all rights and obligations. At the same time, another amateur orchestra had existed since 1939, the "Wiesbadener Amateure e.V." (Wiesbaden Amateurs' Orchestra Association). This is how the current Wiesbadener Orchesterverein e.V. came into being in 1962. The conductor was Rolf Wilberg, who had led the old orchestra association since 1959.

After his death in 1972 and a transitional phase with guest conductors David Serendero, Gerhard Schneider and Emil Rössler, Josef Ujj, Kapellmeister at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, became the new musical director. He was followed in 1988 by Carl Robert Helg (1956-2011), choir director at the Staatstheater, in 1991 by the musicologist Dr. Alfred Stenger and in 1994 by Werner Römer, senior teacher at the Leibniz-Gymnasium. Since 1998, the orchestra has been under the artistic direction of Frank Segner. He is also a teacher at Leibniz-Gymnasium and a trained singer.

In its concerts, the Wiesbadener Orchesterverein has performed with renowned soloists such as the singer Ingeborg Danz, the pianist Erika Le Roux, the concertmasters of the Hessian State Orchestra Wiesbaden Alexander Bartha and Karl-Heinz Schultz and many others. In 2003, the Wiesbadener Orchesterverein celebrated its 100th anniversary with two festive concerts. Soloists included pianist José Gallardo, cellist Stephan Breith and soprano Christine Zoller. The orchestra currently consists of around 50 permanent members of all ages and professions.