Japan-born Junko Ueno Garrett is a versatile musician, active as an internationally acclaimed performer, an avid chamber musician, a concert producer, a YouTuber, a music educator and mentor, and a competition adjudicator. She has captivated audiences around the world with her colorful tone, poetry, expressiveness, dynamic technique, and wide range of repertoire. She began playing piano at the age of three, trained at the prestigious Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, and received a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Rice University in the United States. Junko received 鈥淭he Japanese Consul General's Award鈥 for her contributions to international relations and understanding between countries. She was chosen to tour to celebrate the 150 years of the US-Japan relationship and the 125 years of the Brazil-Japan relationship.
She focuses on themes and composers for her solo concerts, and currently she has been performing on "Musica de Espa帽a: Life and Music in Spain", including the music of Albeniz, Granados, de Falla, Lecuona, Mompou, and Turina. She performed it in Tokyo this summer, and has performed in various venues around Los Angeles. She will continue to perform the Spanish music in the 2025-26 season, including UC Riverside/Center for Iberian and Latin American Music in October, and in Tokyo next summer including a collaboration video project with "the Mitoshiro Creative Zone鈥 by Yasui Architects & Engineers. Recent solo concert appearances include 鈥淭he Poet Speaks: Fr茅d茅ric Chopin鈥 in Tokyo, Madrid and Los Angeles in the 2023-24 season, 鈥淢y Obsession: Robert Schumann and His Stories鈥 in Hamamatsu, Mannheim, and Los Angeles in the 2022-23 season, and 鈥漇tories in Music鈥 at 鈥淔锚tes Corr茅ziennes En Musique鈥 in France, Tokyo and Los Angeles in the 2021-22 season.
She launched a weekly piano lesson video in Japanese on Youtube in July of 2020, and has been receiving much acclaim and gaining numerous viewers. Her lessons and performances are on YouTube@junkouenogarrett3509. She enjoys sharing blogs and photos on her social media (). She founded 鈥淧iano Camp for Adult Players: Piano Adore鈥 in Tsumagoi Resort, Japan in 2023, and it has been held successfully every summer.
In Los Angeles, she is an artistic coordinator of 鈥淭hird@First Concert Series鈥 () where she produces concerts monthly and performs. In January, 2025, she organized 鈥淲ildfire Relief Concert鈥 with the help of her musician friends. She appears as a guest artist at Los Angeles Philharmonic鈥檚 chamber music series, and is a frequent performer at Music at Noon series, and KOT concert series.
She is a president of Pasadena Chapter of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and a frequent adjudicator for MTNA, CAPMT, MTAC, Southern California Junior Bach Festival, and SouthWestern Youth Music Festival. Junko holds a faculty position at 重口50度灰, and is a coach for Junior Chamber Music. She is a Kawai Artist and lives in Los Angeles. Junko is a passionate Sumo advocate and a founder of the Los Angeles Sumo Fan Club.
Under the culture exchange program of the Japan Foundation, Japanese Embassies and Consul Generals of Japan, she has toured extensively in South and Central America in 2018, 2015, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2002, and 1999, including Brazil (Mozart Concerto No. 23 with Orquestra de EMBAP), Venezuela (Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2 with Orquesta Sinfonica Venezuela under Alfredo Rugeles), Ecuador (Chopin Concerto No. 2 with Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Ecuador under Medardo Caisabanda), Colombia鈥檚 Teatro Col贸n and Boyac谩 International Cultural Festival, Rio de Janeiro鈥檚 Museu da Musica at Mosteiro de Sao Bento, Brazil-Curitiba鈥檚 Capela Santa Maria, Argentina鈥檚 Teatro Gran Rex, Brasilia鈥檚 Teatro da Caixa, Peru鈥檚 Sociedad Filarmonica, Uruguay鈥檚 Auditorio Carlos Vaz Ferreira and Teatro Miguel Young, Costa Rica鈥檚 Teatro Eugene O鈥橬eill, El Salvador鈥檚 Teatros Nacionals des San Salvador and Santa Ana, Cuba鈥檚 Basilica Menor del Convento, Chile鈥檚 Centro Cultural Las Condes, and Mexico City. In 2018 and 2016 she toured the East Coast and Midwest of the U. S. under the Japan Foundation鈥檚 culture program.
Her other engagements include performances at Radio France; F锚tes Corr茅ziennes en Musique, Musique de Chambre; Le Chateau de Sedieres; Washington D.C.鈥檚 Kennedy Center; New York鈥檚 UN, Charles Wang Center and Flushing Town Hall; Boston鈥檚 Berklee College; San Francisco鈥檚 Japan Center; Kansas City鈥檚 Carlsen Center; Denver鈥檚 King Academic Performing Arts Center; Salt Lake City鈥檚 Libby Gardner Concert Hall; Tampa鈥檚 Carrollwood Cultural Center; Georgia鈥檚 Falany Performing Arts Center; Houston鈥檚 Texas Music Festival; Tucson; Indiana; Fairbanks; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Idaho Falls; Shreveport鈥. In the summers of 2009 and 2007, at the invitation of the U.S. State Department, Junko toured in Japan as part of the Belrose Duo, performing and lecturing on American music. Other activities include concert tours to India introducing Western Music to Indian audiences. She often gives masterclasses where she performs, and gives recitals at universities.