About Me...

Axum Nickerson is a 12th-grade student at Drew Charter School. He's a member of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. He started playing harp in the 6th grade and has been playing for 7 years. Axum has performed at a school-wide TedX talk, and has co-composed a piece, Everlasting Iris, with fellow ensemble member Myron Leonard for his school ensemble to play on the Spring 2023 concert. He also performed for Andre Dickens' Atlanta State of the City Address in 2023. Axum has also co-founded the 188 Strings Harp Quartet within his school, and has performed with that group for multiple events, such as the Collective Impact Action Virtual Summit for over 400 international viewers, Madison Cultural Center's Annual Cocktail Party before an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert in Madison, GA, and the East Lake Foundation's Party on the Green. Axum has received a total of 7 graded performance scores through GMEA's Solo & Ensemble competition, 6 of which have been superior, and 1 of which have been excellent. In addition to harp, He participates in many extracurricular activities, including  a leadership organization called Jack and Jill. He also was accepted to a paid internship at Georgia Tech called Project ENGAGES, leading him to becoming a published research author, and also participates in a Georgia Tech program called Bridge to Employment. Axum also enjoys watching TV shows and playing recreational sports, and hopes to become a biomedical engineer.