In addition to training in theater and dance, Valérie Philippin studied lieder singing in France and Italy (first prize at the Boulogne-Billancourt conservatory; fellowship for continuing study abroad from the Direction de la Musique, the music section of the French ministry of culture), before deciding to devote herself to twentieth-century repertoire and contemporary music. She uses an interdisciplinary approach to combine the works of her chosen repertoire with her own explorations and creations. She teaches contemporary singing, and she has worked at the Atelier Théâtre et Musique (ATEM) under Georges Aperghis, the Ecole Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette de Charleville-Mézières, and the C.F.M.I. at Orsay University. She is artistic director of the organization Singulière Compagnie—la voix et les arts de la scène, as well as of the vocal and instrumental ensemble Le kiosque.
In 1997 her exhibit Entre-temps—a work on the combination of text, vocality, and image—was awarded the gold medal by the Alexandria Biennale for Modern Art. In 2000 she received a grant from the Beaumarchais Foundation for her music theater project Les affabrucations machinelles du docteur Eonns. Her discography includes works by Berio, Aperghis, Kassap, Hodeir, Sarhan, and many others.
In January 2005, Atelier Strette by Hector Parra at Forum Neues Musiktheater.