The orchestra belongs to the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in Catania, a school that grew out of a 1947 decision by the city to take charge of its Teatro Massimo Bellini and train the singers and players the theatre needed; the liceo musicale followed in 1951. It moved into the former Collegio Sacro Cuore in 1985, became an istituto musicale in 1996 and a state conservatory in June 2004. In public it performs as La Sinfonica Vincenzo Bellini.