Praised for his unique, natural musicality and exceptional technique, it is hardly surprising that Yo-Yo Ma has described him as "a fabulous cellist".

Born in Paraguay in 1995, Michiaki Ueno began studying the cello in Japan at the age of five. In 2001, he moved to Barcelona, where he studied with Iñaki Etxepare. After returning to Japan in 2004, he trained at the music department of Toho Gakuen College (diploma class for soloists), under the tutelage of Hakuro Mohri. In 2015, he moved to Germany, where he continued his studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf with Pieter Wispelwey. In September 2021, Michiaki will be Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth College of Music under the direction of Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling.

In 2007, at the age of eleven, he gave his first performance with orchestra at the prestigious Suntory Hall (Lalo Concerto). In 2009, at the age of thirteen, he became the first Japanese to win the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. A year later, he won first prize at the Romanian International Music Competition, as well as the Romanian Embassy Prize and the Romanian Radio Cultural Prize. In 2014, he won first prize in the International Johannes Brahms Competition. He won the first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition in 2021, along with three special prizes, including the Audience Prize. Michiaki Ueno receives the Beethoven Ring 2024.