Buffalo Music: Classical crossover tenor inspires with transcendent voice

This week marks the second session of “Rockabilly 2 Rachmaninoff,” a captivating new series of “In the Flamingo Lounge” dropping every two months on the second Saturday. Each episode promises unique insights, featuring a special guest from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Joining us on the second episode of the “Rockabilly 2 Rachmaninoff” series, is Classical crossover tenor Jay Dref.

Jay inspires audiences with his passionate, transcendent voice. His uplifting, timeless interpretations of classic standards and modern material has quickly made him one of the premier vocalists of his generation. Reviewers have called him “Groban-like” and his music has become very popular on classical crossover and adult contemporary playlists on Spotify where he has over 100,000 listeners in 157 different countries. 

A Buffalo native, Jay is a graduate of The Juilliard School. He has toured internationally and performed at venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Jay also has appeared in concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. 

Most recently, Jay has collaborated with world-renowned soprano Sarah Brightman on several concert tours spanning four continents. He will continue to tour with Ms. Brightman throughout this year.

Jay will be performing with Michelle Ragusa on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at Kleinhan’s Music Hall for the Showstopping Pops! event. For more information and tickets: bpo.org

Greg Hennessey’s “In the Flamingo Lounge with Rockabilly Greg” podcast is must listen content for fans of Western New York music. Hennessey just started his sixth season of podcasts, and he’s got over 100 episodes in his archives at https://rockabillygreg.com.

New episodes are available at 9 a.m. EST each Saturday at RockabillyGreg.com. Each posting includes a link to the podcast, website, and social media links, images, and other interesting tidbits about the week’s guest(s).