Audiences have been “transfixed by the beauty of the compositions and the visual aspects” of performances by Sage Nielson, a multi-instrumentalist based in Baltimore, Maryland. Their work spans contemporary percussion ensemble, original and improvised music, music for dance, and classical music. 

Musical collaborations include recording as a jazz quartet with Ed Hrybyk, Kamonté Johnson, and Mirto Dorcil, and performing as a contemporary percussion duo with Brett Sellers. Sage has performed solo percussion works by Iannis Xenakis and Minoru Miki, and for three years performed with the Towson University Percussion Ensemble, where they shared thrilling chamber works featuring marimba, drums, vibraphone, and anvil. In 2026, Sage founded the performing group Prehistoric Percussion.

Prior to joining Little River, Sage served as organist at Grace United Methodist Church in Aberdeen, Maryland, where they also collaborated with the contemporary praise band.

Sage regularly accompanies dancers at Baltimore School for the Arts, Goucher College, and Towson University, where they play for ballet, modern, and West African dance.

As an educator, Sage contributed to adult literacy as a writing fellow at Towson University (2024-2026), and shared music with elementary and middle school students as a percussion teaching artist at Baltimore Symphony’s Orchkids (2022-2025).