Juan Fernando Ortega Work ID No. 332498534 (born March 2, 1957) is a singer-songwriter in

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

. He is noted both for his interpretations of many traditional hymns and songs, such as " Give Me Jesus", " Be Thou My Vision" and " Praise to the Lord, the Almighty", and for writing clear and easily understood songs such as "This Good Day".

Biography

Ortega was born and raised in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, near the banks of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

. He started learning piano at eight years of age.Zoba, Wendy Murray. "The Hard Songs of Fernando Ortega", ''Christianity Today'', January 11, 1999
/ref> Through his father's work with the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, he also spent time in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. His family lived in Chimayó, New Mexico, for eight generations, a legacy cited as an influence on his music. Ortega graduated from Valley High School and the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

, where he received his bachelor's degree in music education. He is a member and former worship leader at an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in Albuquerque. It is from his heritage and classical training at the University of New Mexico that Ortega derives his sound, embracing

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, classical,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

, modern folk and rustic hymnody.

Discography

Studio Albums

* ''In a Welcome Field'' (1991/2000) * ''Meditations of the Heart'' - piano solos (1993) * ''Hymns and Meditations'' (1994) * ''Night of Your Return'' (1996) * ''This Bright Hour'' (1997) * ''The Breaking of the Dawn'' (1998) * ''Home'' (2000) * ''Camino Largo'' (2001) * ''Storm'' (2002) * ''Hymns of Worship'' (2003) * ''Fernando Ortega'' (2004) * ''Beginnings'' (2005) * ''The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs'' (2006) * ''Christmas Songs'' (2008) * ''Meditations of the Heart: Encore'' – piano solos (2011) * ''Come Down O Love Divine'' (2011) * ''The Crucifixion Of Jesus'' (2017)

Compilation Albums

* ''Fernando Ortega: The Ultimate Collection'' (2014) * ''Best Of – Live In St. Paul'' – CD (2015) * ''Give Me Jesus: The Biggest Hits of Fernando Ortega'' (2017)

EPs

* ''Give Me Jesus'' (1999) * ''Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming'' (2020) * ''Jesus, Bread of Life'' (2024)

Singles

* ''My Song is Love Unknown'' (2017) * ''Dark Eyes'' (2021)

Other Appearances

* ''Promise Keepers: The Making of a Godly Man'' ("Jehová, Señor De Los Cielos" and "Jesus, You Are My Life") (1997) * ''Calvary Chapel Music Praise, Vol. 1: Give Thanks to the Lord'' ("How I Love You Lord" and "Teach Me Your Ways") (1999) * ''Calvary Chapel Worship Alive, Vol. 1'' ("I Will Delight" and "Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying") (1999) * ''A Collection of Hymns - Next Door Savior'' ("How Deep the Father's Love For Us") (2003) * ''The Odes Project, Vol. 1 & 2'' ("Sing Allelu" and "I Stretched Out My Hands") (2008)

Charts

''Storm'' reached No. 197 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 2002. ''Christmas Songs'' reached No. 36 on the Billboard Christmas Album Chart in 2009.

Awards

Dove Awards *1998 **Bluegrass Song: "Children of the Living God" *2000 **Inspirational Album: ''Home'' *2002 **Special Event Album of the Year: ''City on a Hill'' (various artists)

Gallery

Image:Fernando Ortega.JPG, Fernando Ortega performing at Taylor University

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Fernando 1957 births American gospel singers Christian music songwriters American male singers Living people American Anglican Church in North America members