Barry Anderson was born in New Zealand in 1935 and moved to England in 1950. He studied piano, violin, and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London and with the pianist Edwin Fischer in Switzerland.

In 1971, he set up an electronic music studio in West Square and then founded the West Square Electronic Music Ensemble, of which he served as artistic director. In 1979, he co-founded the Electro-Acoustic Music Association of Great Britain (which later became the Sonic Arts Network). His work with both groups placed him in the vanguard in the movement to create a new repertoire of electroacoustic music in England, fostering collaboration and cooperation between celebrated instrumentalists and young composers. Anderson also worked at the IRCAM in collaboration with Sir Harrison Birtwistle to create the electronic material for Birtwistle‘s acclaimed opera The Mask of Orpheus.