The orchestra gave its first concert in 1987 and has since given more than 1000. In 1988 it gained national acclaim with a much-lauded concert at the Berliner Philharmonie. It began touring abroad with a performance in Amsterdam in 1989. In 1995 the Freiburger Barockorchester discovered America. Today, half of the orchestra's concerts are performed abroad.

The musicians selected their first conductor from among themselves. In 1990, with the release of their first CD, the then concert master Thomas Hengelbrock successfully took up the baton and, together with Gottfried von der Goltz, was the orchestra's artistic director until 1997.

Such sensational CD productions as Vivaldi's Four Seasons and the initiation of its own subscription concert cycle at the concert hall in their city of origin, Freiburg, in 1997 were expressive of a new phase under the sole artistic direction of Gottfried von der Goltz. The subscriptions have meanwhile been limited to 1,400, which not only illustrates an amazing audience loyalty, but also provides a unique and solid basis on which the orchestra management can work.

That basis provided scope for expansion. In the 1999/2000 season the Freiburger Barockorchester offered two more subscription cycles: at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart and the Chamber Music Hall of the Berliner Philharmonie.