Founded in 1995 by Salim Nakhjavani, the Mount Royal Youth Orchestra (MRYO – formerly the Westmount Youth Orchestra) is based on a family atmosphere and a love of music. As a future law student, Salim laid a solid foundation for the MRYO to grow, and found dedicated Board members and coaches who were motivated to offer young musicians of all levels an environment conducive to their development.

The orchestra gave its first concerts at Victoria Hall in Westmount, under the direction of conductor Mark Simons and Anthony Rozankovic, assisted by string coaches Margaret Lysy, violin, and James Darling, cello. Jean MacRae, violin and viola, joined the team as string coach in 1996. Mark Simons was musical director from 1996 to 2004, followed by Josée Laforest and Scott Gabriel. Jean MacRae has been the Artistic Director since 2011.

In 1999, the String Ensemble was created with the aim of encouraging younger musicians and preparing them for entry into the Symphony Orchestra. An intermediate string ensemble, Dolce Musica, was created in 2003, and an intermediate Wind Ensemble in 2019. The Mount Royal Youth Orchestra family now has more than 170 musicians between 5 and 25 years old in four ensembles: the String Ensemble, Dolce Musica, Wind Ensemble and the Symphony Orchestra.