Axtens studied composition at the University of Auckland where she gained an Honours degree before completing a Masters at Victoria University of Wellington in 1999.
[2] In 1994 she won a Douglas Lilburn Student Composition Award.
[3] She received the Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund Award in 2002.
[5] She has written works for solo instruments and small ensembles which have been performed by contemporary music groups including 175 East.
[1] Axtens left New Zealand in the mid-2000s[5] and is currently in Berlin where she works for Sony Classical.