The Croatian Chamber Orchestra was formed in 1988 at an incentive of the Croatian Association of Croatian Association of Orchestral and Chamber Artists. Their founder Anđelko Ramušćak wanted to initiate performances of orchestral literature for chamber ensembles to offer young artists opportunities to perform live and gain experience in a premium chamber ensemble. In 1989 Kazushi Ono, who was the conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonics at the time, became the head of the orchestra. During the 1995/96 season, maestro Pavle Dešpalj took over as the artistic director. With the standard classical repertoire, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra is also dedicated to promoting Croatian musical heritage and encouraging contemporary musicians to write new works. So far, the Orchestra has performed in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. They have been holding a regular cycle of concerts in the Croatian Music Institute since 1991. The Orchestra has been conducted by Milan Horvat, Berislav Klobučar, Uroš Lajovic, Milan Turković, Nikolai Alekseiev and others. They have released several records.