The Collegium musicum Potsdam symphony orchestra was founded in 1945, shortly after the war, by composer and conductor Prof. Hans Chemin-Petit, who provided outstanding services for Potsdam and its musical variety in the areas of choirs and orchestras, especially by establishing regular serenade concerts in the courtyard of the city palace. Today, the Collegium musicum, as the oldest orchestra of the state capital Potsdam, counts among the most traditional local music associations.

For more than 70 years, the Collegium musicum Potsdam symphony orchestra has rehearsed and performed in Potsdam, which makes it the oldest orchestra in the state capital. Shortly after World War II, Hans Chemin-Petit (www.cheminpetit.de), a very well known composer and university professor during his lifetime, founded a string ensemble under the name Collegium musicum. It seems that Chemin-Petit relinquished the direction of the ensemble after one year.