Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne  was founded in 1942 by violinist and conductor Victor Desarzens, who served as its resident conductor for 30 years. Desarzens gave pride of place to contemporary music and directed a great many premieres of new works by composers such as Frank Martin and Bohuslav Martinu. Originally a string ensemble, the orchestra today features 44 musicians.

The orchestra performed from the outset under the most prestigious conductors of that time – Otto Ackermann, Ernest Ansermet, Ernst Bour, André Cluytens, Antal Dorati, Ferenc Fricsay, Lovro von Matacic, Witold Rowicki and Günter Wand – and composers Paul Hindemith and Frank Martin. In 1949, it began performing abroad at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence.

The 2000/2001 season saw the appointment of Christian Zacharias as artistic director and resident conductor, succeeding Armin Jordan (1973-1985), Lawrence Foster (1985-1990) and Jesús López Cobos (1990-2000). In 2007, Christian Zacharias received the MIDEM Classical Award for "Artist of the Year".

The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne developed its broad and highly diverse repertoire, spanning nearly four centuries of music ranging from the baroque period to contemporary works. As the special partner of the Opéra de Lausanne, the OCL performs for most of its productions. It gives about 90 concerts a year at the Salle Métropole in its hometown of Lausanne, in other parts of Switzerland and abroad.

Major tours have taken the orchestra to the USA, the Far East (Japan) and South America (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay). Its regular European tours have seen it performing in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Vienna, Berlin, Zagreb, Paris – where it has been invited to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées every year since 2001 – Rome, Brussels, and London – where it was a guest of the BBC Proms in 2004 for the first time in its history.

Numerous festivals also invite the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne: La Roque d’Anthéron, San Sebastián, Bucarest, Edinburgh, Zermatt, Rheingau, Nantes (Folles Journées) and Tokyo. In 2008-2009, the orchestra will play in Zermatt, Turin, Montreux, Berne, Paris, St. Gallen, La Roque d’Anthéron, San Sebastián, and in Japan with the Opera of Lausanne.

Radio Suisse Romande, which has partnered the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne from the time of its foundation, records most of its performances and produces some of its concerts. The orchestra has gained a worldwide reputation thanks to broadcasts of its concerts on international radio networks and now on its Internet site.

The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne has participated in original projects in collaboration with institutions such as the Collection de l’Art Brut, the Cinémathèque Suisse de Lausanne, Béjart Ballet, and regularly offers educational concerts for the young. The OCL is the first Swiss orchestra to take on a composer in residence every two years: for the 2007/08 season, the Orchestra is proud to welcome the cellist and Swiss composer Thomas Demenga.

The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne has an abundant discography and has made close to 250 recordings under its various artistic directors. With the arrival of Christian Zacharias, it has developed a new partnership with MDG (Musikproduktion Dabringhaus & Grimm, Detmold, Germany). Seven CDs are available, featuring works by Mozart, Schumann, Michael Haydn, and Chopin with Christian Zacharias as conductor and pianist.

The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne is sponsored by the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud and also receives substantial support from businesses and private foundations.