The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic Orchestra) was founded in 1946 in Bad Pyrmont, and is based in Herford, Germany. Its initial membership was drawn from members of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, St. Florian, and the Deutsche Philharmonie Prag (the German population had been expelled from Czechoslovakia after the war). In 1950, it was merged with the Herford Sinfonisches Orchester, and named the Städtebund-Symphoniker, before adopting its current name.+

Conductors included

1950–1952: Rolf Agop
1952–1953: Eugen Pabst
1953–1955: Wilhelm Schüchter
1955–1956: Albert Grünes
1956–1961: Kurt Brass
1959–1960: Hermann Scherchen
1961–1963: Hermann Hildebrand
1963–1969: Richard Kraus
1969–1971: Werner Andreas Albert
1971–1974: Erich Bergel
1975–1987: János Kulka
1987–1991: Alun Francis
1992–1998: Michail Jurowski
1998–2006: Toshiyuki Kamioka
2006–2009: Andris Nelsons
2010–2014: Eugene Tzigane
2014–2020: Yves Abel
from 2021: Jonathon Heyward