Creative artist working in traditional and experimental realms.
Jay Saint Flono is a classical singer, actor, librettist, and author from Brooklyn, New York.
Born in East Meadow, New York into a musical and literary family with Southern roots, Jay received foundational training in many forms of artistic expression from the age of six at the OnStage Contemporary Theater Arts Company in recitals of West African dance (Old Malian Kingdom), musical theater productions and orchestral recitals, playing B-flat clarinet, double-bass and handbells while also singing in numerous children’s choirs. In 2000, Jay received First Place in Nassau County for the monologue “No More Jim Crow Laws” at Hofstra University. In 2004, Jay’s first professional entrance into the world of classical music began with a successful audition for the Choir Academy of Harlem, singing with the Boys Choir at the Summer Music Institute at Skidmore College and at Madison Square Garden for the Republican National Convention.
As a sopranist, Jay has brought emotional force to operatic heroes such as Orfeo in La Favola d’Orfeo and colored the air as a soloist in choral masterworks such as the Credo, Serenade to Music,The Messiah, & Oratorium nach bildern der Bibel, operatic excerpts such as Leonore (Fidelio) with Harlem Opera Theater, Olderico (La costanza trionfante degl’mori e degl’ii), and recitals of Italian art song, French mélodie, Lieder, and African-American art song and Spirituals.
Jay marked their entry into the multi-media arts world in Fall 2021 as the soprano soloist in the premiere of Deep Blue Sea with Bill T. Jones and the the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Jay has been seen with the Unsung Collective in performances at Lincoln Center and The CARA, working with composers and visual artists such as Neo Muyanga and Bethany Collins.
As a writer and creator of worlds, Jay is the author of a culinary memoir/speculative short fiction collection titled Black American Magic: A Feast of Food & Folklore, and was a 2019-21 Librettist Fellow with Composers and The Voice (AOP) where they completed the libretto, Spirit in the Vine. Jay’s work centers around the power of myth and its intersection with themes of music, language, beauty, death, identity, family, and home. Jay is a member of the arts consortium, Ring Shout.