Remembering Barre Phillips (1934-2024)

From the very beginning, Barre’s deep dedication and love for music and performance, which he shared so generously in his teaching and on stage as well as in conversations outside the studio, became a bright spark that touched my heart as an artist and person and has inspired me ever since.
While I continued to take part in his workshops until 2023, at times in co-direction with Julyen Hamilton, these inspiring weeks for music and dance led to numerous performances and projects with wonderful musicians and dancers throughout Europe.

Working with Barre I discovered and learned not only a lot about dance and music in performance but above all about life. One of the things he often asked us was to dance or play ‘our own language’ the best way we can do.
He himself said in an interview:

“I play everything based on what my ear suggests I play, with no objective editing. And my ear is fed by a pool of accumulated musical experiences stored in my memory, mental memory and muscle memory. My active role is to do the best I can to play on my instrument what my ear is suggesting.”

I feel deep gratitude for the moments I have shared with Barre over the years and I will miss him and his presence in the world of music and dance. But his spirit lives on through his music and the inspiration he gave to all those who had the privilege of knowing him.

Barre Phillips, en souvenirs de danse
A beautiful article by Jean Marc Adolphe, 16 Jan 2025 in the French online journal les humanites-media, in which Barre talks especially about his work with dancers.


Photo: Excerpt by Nomo Michael Hoefner: Barre Phillips at Moers Festival,2008