The Orfeón Donostiarra, that polyphonic Basque group of universal prestige, was founded in San Sebastián in 1897.

The first directors, Oñate and Luzuriaga, were succeeded by the maestro Esnaola, under whose long-running leadership - from 1902 to 1929 - the choir gained the greatest popular profile. The Gran Prix of Paris, gained in June 1906, meant the group´s international confirmation. Initially formed solely of men, maestro Esnaola decided to change it into a mixed choir after the group´s first visit to Barcelona in 1910. In cultivating this mixed modality, maestro Arbós was a great influence.

In those early years of the century, the small city of San Sebastián, with only 30,000 inhabitants, felt that the Orfeón was its own choir. Its triumphs were celebrated enthusiastically by a population which filled the streets to receive the choir members and accompany them to its premises. In their honour, popular dances were organised in a multicolored atmosphere of lights and song.

After Esnaola left the scene, Juan Gorostida, who had belonged to the choir since 1911, was named director in 1929. During his stage, the Orfeón felt the influence of great Spanish and international maestros and sang in the most important international festivals.

Initially created to cultivate and disseminate traditional Basque singing, the Orfeón underwent a natural evolution towards polyphonic and symphonic-choral repertoires, although it never forgot its origins and its initial purpose.

After maestro Gorostida´s death in 1968, the running of the choir was taken over by maestro Antxón Ayestarán, continuing the musical work of his predecessors and maintaining the high artistic level of the choir as a whole.

Although it is very difficult to condense the long artistic activity of the Orfeón Donostiarra since its beginnings, among its most important performances, one may highlight that of Berlin in 1973 with their Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris in 1976 under the baton of the maestro Seiji Ozawa, interpreting Berlioz´ "Requiem", and Zurich in 1978 with maestro G. Albrecht, and in 1980 the tours of England and the United States under the baton of maestro Rafael Frühbeck of Burgos. The Orfeón has performed alongside the world´s most important orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic, The Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Capitole Theatre Orchestra of Tolouse, the NDR of Hamburg, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Soviet Radio Television Orchestra, the Moscow Virtuosi, etc.

Based on two important reserves of talent, the Corazón de María Child Choristers and the San Ignacio College, the Orfeón is still an amateur choir, 150 people who rehearse various days a week and dedicate the proceeds of their performances to covering general costs. Considered to be the leading ambassador of Basque music in the world, it has a thousand members and receives economic aid from the Basque Government, the Provincial Government of Guipúzcoa and from the San Sebastián City Council.

Since the death, in a road accident, of Antxón Ayestarán in December 1986, the choir has been directed by José Antonio Sáinz.

Twenty-two years after the re-opening of the Royal Theatre in Madrid with a performance by the Orfeón Donostiarra, in October 1988, the Basque choral group, directed by Jesús López Cobos, again performed in a historical monument; the opening of the national Musical Auditorium, in the presence of HRH the Prince of Asturias.

Among other distinctions, the Orfeón Donostiarra received in 1983 the Medal of Honour of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, and in 1985 the Gold Medal of the Provincial Government of Guipúzcoa.