Amped is a four-week music mentorship programme for high school students during August and September.
It began as the Chicks Music Project in 2010 and Nicholls was one of those involved.
Nicholls works as a guitar and drums teacher at Abbotsford Primary School, as well as regularly acting as a recording and mixing engineer for local and national bands.
He has also written and directed plays at the Playhouse and Fortune theatres and holds a bachelor of arts degree in theatre studies/music from the University of Otago.
With collaborator Alex Martyn, Nicholls recently presented bilingual improvised gig/show Ngahau Tene at Dunedin Fringe Festival, which was nominated for five awards and won the music award.
In a statement, Nicholls said he was excited to be on board with the Amped Project.
"Without being involved in Amped when I was at school, I would never be where I am as a musician and I wouldn’t have half of the friendships I now cherish.
"I’m looking forward to providing that for the next generation of tamariki," he said.
Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust (DFAT) producer Vanessa Beck said the organisation was delighted to have Nicholls on board.
"He has so many great ideas bubbling already and the fact that he was one of the earliest participants of the programme, and has also been a workshop host, really felt good," she said.
First established by Volunteer South as a holiday programme for high school music students, the Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust took on the project in 2013 after Volunteer South no longer had capacity to run it, ensuring the opportunity remained available.
The project enables participants to explore their identity as artists, to begin to develop their music careers, to make strong connections with their peers and with the wider Dunedin music community.
It focuses on building a safe and inclusive environment for young people as they enter the music industry.
Amped includes workshops and all-ages gigs, as well as other opportunities such as recording sessions, over four weekends.
The programme connects young musicians with Dunedin’s music and creative scenes with experienced musicians (including Amped alumni) engaged as guest tutors and mentors.
Previous Amped co-ordinators have included Jess Young, Simon Wallace, Dallas Synnott, Nadia Reid and most recently Craig Monk with Natasha Griffiths.
To support the programme this year, Amped is running a crowdfunding campaign to enable the wider community to contribute to the programme.
For more information, visit https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/amped-2026. — Allied Media
