Born to parents who are not trained musically, Mikkel shocked his parents with his rare gift for music at the young age of six when he started playing piano pieces he heard over the internet. Endowed with perfect-pitch, Mikkel went on to clinch Gold in various international piano competitions months after.

He represented Singapore and performed at Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria) and Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (Netherlands), and was invited to perform at the Carnegie Hall in New York City (USA).