In 2008 Philippe graduated from the University of Limerick with an MA - First Class Honours in Irish Traditional Music Performance. Since then he has toured all over Europe & America playing guitar & flute with the David Munnelly Band, toured Australia with his Celtic Jazz-Funk  group All Jigged Out, & covered the british isles with Folk Hip-Hop rising stars Dizraeli & The Small Gods (on guitar, flute, keys and gaita!). Three-time runner up in the BBC Young Folk Awards and highly commended at the Danny Kyle Stage, Philippe has also appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC 2, Discovery Channel, MTV, ITV & TG4. Discography includes: Philippe Barnes & Tom Phelan "The Madrid Sessions" (Contemporary Celtic Flute & Piano), Lee Westwood Ensemble "The Nymph Suite & Other Stories" (Debussy-esque Flute, Guitar, Violin, Cello), All Jigged Out "Wish Hill", Attab Haddad Quintet "Days Distinctive" (Flamenco Arabic Oud-led Fusion)

As well as Celtic music Philippe has a great love of Flamenco, Jazz and Arabic Music. He is a member of Iraqi oud player Attab Haddad’s band, and bass virtuoso Franc O’Shea’s Jazz-Fusion group Alkimia.

He began his studies with Liz Goodwin - founder of Flutewise - at the age of 11. Since then he has studied flute with Niall Keegan, Sarah Allen, Brian Finnegan, composition with Param Vir, and improvisation with Gareth Lockrane, Lawrence Jones and Tom Phelan.

He has also performed with The Irish Folk Ballet Co., McDermotts Two Hours, Flook!, Shakira (MTV 5-Star), Lulo Reinhardt, Lee Westwood, the Mike McGoldrick Trio, Alkimia, Mooose, Richard Durrant, Nick Pynn, Nick Dick & Tom, Sam Pirt, Legacy and many others...

In 2005 Philippe played multiple flutes on the sold-out UK tour of "Faust", a new soundtrack composed by microtonal hammered dulcimer virtuoso Geoff Smith to the 1926 silent film, given a 5 star review by ‘The Scotsman’.