The chorus was formed as the North Riding Chorus in 1968, under the direction of Barry Griffiths who was at the time Music Adviser for the North Riding of Yorkshire Education Committee.  The first concert was performed in 1969, and the Chorus then quickly established a fine reputation for singing principally large-scale and often rarely-performed works.

We have always aimed to reach a wide audience by performing in venues scattered throughout the county.  When the Ridings were disbanded and the county became North Yorkshire, the Chorus changed its name too.  Some venues which used to be in the North Riding now became in Cleveland; and concerts have also been given in venues in south Durham.

Membership fluctuates from 80–100, and singers come from all around this large county: from Malton to Yarm, Guisborough to Leyburn, Boroughbridge to Richmond.  Because of these long distances to travel, rehearsals cannot be on a weekday evening but have always been fortnightly on Saturday afternoon.

At least two concerts a year are given at various venues, including Ampleforth Abbey Church, Ripon Cathedral, Selby Abbey, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Harewood House, and the Dolphin Centre in Darlington; also halls and churches in the market towns of Northallerton, Thirsk, Saltburn, Guisborough and Richmond.
 
Our repertoire, which includes most of the larger choral works from Handel and Mozart to Vaughan Williams and Michael Tippett, is usually performed with professional orchestras and soloists of a high calibre.  A complete list of the main works which we have performed is on the Past Concerts page.

The chorus has made 5 trips abroad.  The first tour was to Finland in 1987 to sing the Verdi Requiem in Joennsu and Kuopio.  The second, to Germany to perform the Mozart Requiem in Erfurt, Gotha and Heiligenstadt, was arranged before, but happened after, the Berlin Wall came down in 1991.  East Germany was in the first stages of reunification and we witnessed the retreat of the Russian troops by train from Erfurt.  The next visit in 1995 was a visit to Columbia in South Carolina, USA, for another performance of the Verdi Requiem .

The fourth memorable visit was to Hong Kong to mark the millennium year.  This was arranged with the Hong Kong Bach Choir to celebrate the centenary of Elgar's wonderful piece, The Dream of Gerontius, in Hong Kong. Martin Hindmarsh and his wife Jennifer Westwood were soloists in the production in Hong Kong Cultural Centre's main concert hall, which was conducted by Jerome Hoberman.

Most recently, in May 2008 the Chorus visited Ormesson-sur-Marne near Paris, the twin town of Northallerton, the county town of North Yorkshire.  A concert of short items was given in the parish church and a contribution was made to a gala concert featuring a variety of singing and instrumental groups which was held in the town's Cultural Centre.