Makiko Yamada completed the Postgraduate Course at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts after graduating from the Department of Music at the same college. In 1999, she moved to France to study at the École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP), earning a diploma in music performance. Her viola teachers include Toshiyuki Uzuka, Bruno Pasquier, and more. She has performed chamber music and with various orchestras across Japan and in Paris, Rome, and Brussels. Yamada has been a member of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra since 1993. In 2017 and 2022, she appeared at the Viola Space competition. She was a member of the PMF Academy in 1996, then performed as a member of the PMF Orchestra JAPAN in 2021. This year she returns to serve as a PMF Section Leader.