The Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphony, as it was originally named, was founded in 1967 by Loris Tjknavorian, a composer and conductor at Moorhead State University (now Minnesota State University Moorhead). FMAYS was organized to give musically talented senior and junior high school students from the Fargo Moorhead area an opportunity to expand their musical experiences.

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In the mid-1970s, Dewey Possehl, Eunice Pitmon, Jack Harris, and Bruce Houglum reorganized FMAYS. They designed the organization as an addition to middle and high school music education programs in the community. They stressed that players were expected to participate in and retain allegiance to their school instrumental music programs.

In 1993, FMAYS divided into the Junior High Concert Strings for students in grades 6-8, and the Senior High Symphony Orchestra for students grades 9-12. In 2017, Attacca Strings was created as a string orchestra for grades 9-12.