Born in Tulle in 1952, Philippe Manoury not only enjoys undisputed recognition as a composer, but is also considered one of the pioneers in the research and development of music with live electronics. Despite his extensive training as a pianist and composer (he studied at the École normale de musique and the CNSMDP, with Max Deutsch - a pupil of Schönberg, Gérard Condé, Michel Philippot and Ivo Malec), he claims to be self-taught. Parallel to his musical studies, he made his first forays into composition, taking part in major contemporary music festivals and concerts from the age of 19. The premiere of his piano work Cryptophonos by Claude Helffer brought him to public attention in 1974.

His interest in electronic music led him to Ircam, after two years of lectures in Brazil: from 1981, he took an active part in the development of MAX-MSP, a computer language for real-time interactive electronics, with mathematician Miller Puckette.In a variety of artistic and pedagogical roles, he directed the "pedagogical" department of the Ensemble Intercontemporain (1983-1987), taught composition at the CNSMD in Lyon (1987-1997), directed the Académie de composition at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence (1998-2000), and was appointed composer-in-residence at the Orchestre de Paris (1995-2011), as well as at the Scène nationale d'Orléans (2001-2003). He is Professor Emeritus at the University of California (San Diego), where he taught composition between 2004 and 2012. In 2013, he moved to Strasbourg, where he was appointed professor of composition at the Académie supérieure de musique of the Haute École des arts du Rhin. In 2015, he founded his own composition academy as part of the Musica festival in Strasbourg.