Jay Dref

Classical Crossover Singer Jay Dref inspires audiences with his passionate, transcendent voice. Reviewers have called him “Groban-like”, and the emotional impact of his live performances have quickly made him one of the premier vocalists of his generation

Committed to becoming a professional artist, he auditioned for the prestigious Juilliard School in NYC and was accepted receiving a full scholarship. Most recently, Jay was invited to join Sarah Brightman on her 2021 Christmas Symphony Tour. During the Covid pandemic he participated in online concerts sponsored by Classical Crossover Magazine. In 2020 he released an original duet with Italian soprano Angelica Volpi, L'Amore e' un Attimo, which has remained a popular choice on his digital music platforms. Back in 2019 Jay was asked to perform at a private event for Bing Crosby’s son in Atlanta, Georgia and that same year was a featured artist at Live in the Vineyard, a national event for radio programmers held by invitation only in Napa Valley, California. He collaborated with songwriting team Lauren Christy and Stephan Moccio on his single “Taxi in the Rain”. Moccio, who also worked with Sarah Brightman, praised Jay as “the “best of the best” and Christy described him as a “really special singer”. He has been a featured soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and has given numerous recitals at Lincoln Center. He has also performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, The Chautauqua Institution, The Burchfield Penney Art Center, The Delancey and The Bitter End. His voice has been heard regularly on both television and radio on ABC Channel 7, the TCT Network, The Celebrity Page and VH1 as well as on Buffalo’s classical music station 94.5 WNED, OWWR Long Island, The Weekend with Ed Kalegi, and the Jim Brickman Show. His Christmas single “A Wish on Christmas Day” streamed over 200,000 times on national retail radio.