Sage Mae Lima-Jeffries, cello

Meet Sage

Sage performs on Show 433.

Sage Mae Lima-Jeffries (cello), 17, is a cellist, visual artist, singer, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. She’s been drawing ever since she could hold a pencil and singing ever since she could talk. At the age of 11, Sage started playing the cello with the Atlanta Music Project (AMP) and fell in love with the instrument’s beautiful range of sound. A current student of Ismail Akbar, Sage enjoys being part of AMP’s Senior Youth Orchestra as principal cellist, their Senior Youth Choir, and the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra. In June of 2023, Sage had the opportunity to participate in AMP’s Summer Series and masterclass with the renowned cellist, Sterling Elliot. A month later, Sage took part in Alliance Theatre’s 2023 Palefsky Collision Project, culminating in a collaborative play: “Praying with Our Feet: For the People Who Can Light Up the City” which included original music, dances, and monologues by her and her castmates. In 2022, she participated in the Southern Star Music Festival where she won Gold Standard and the Grand Champion award with the AMP Senior Youth Choir, and Silver Standard with the AMP Senior Youth Orchestra. That same year she performed at the Georgia ACDA fall conference with the AMP Senior Youth Choir. In 2020, Sage also had the honor of performing in the GMEA All State Orchestra conducted by American composer, Richard Meyer. She enjoys performing in and around Atlanta and has performed in places such as the Mercedes Benz Stadium, Spivey Hall, Plaza Theatre, and has even been on live TV.

In the future, Sage would love to compose music for cello and voice, create her own series of artwork to be displayed in a prestigious museum, design and create her own clothing line, and perform outside of the U.S. Outside of music she enjoys cooking, biking, sewing, and crocheting.

Receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award will allow Sage to own her first instrument, a high-quality cello that will carry her through her studies and into the professional field.

Sage is a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist.
Scholarship Year: 2024