An Interview With Fernando Ortega

Fernando Ortega and I share the same hometown of Albuquerque, NM. In recent days he has become a friend and I asked him if he would like to do an interview on my blog. He kindly agreed.

1. Was there a point in time when you knew you were called to be a full time musician?

Not a specific moment in time, no. It was a gradual thing, a slow realization that I wasn’t very good at anything else. I wanted to be a herpetologist when I was a little kid. I loved snakes and wanted to know everything about them. Then I wanted to be a botanist, and that was my aim when I entered college. My piano professor at UNM, George Robert, was the one who convinced me that I should pursue music.

2. What do you enjoy most about your career?

Definitely it’s the actual moments I am singing in front of people. I hate the travel part, I hate the hotels, being away from my family. But I am very satisfied when I get to sit down at a piano and sing my songs in front of people. It’s a fantastic blessing.

3. What are some of your most significant memories of your career as a Christian artist?

My first concert at Moody Memorial Church, a Billy Graham Crusade in California right after 9/11, the youth camps at Horse Valley, PA, leading worship in Asuncion, Paraguay, The Anne Graham Lotz revival at Royal Albert Hall in London, long rides on the tour bus with my band, writing songs on the beach in Laguna, and some really good years at Myrrh Records in Nashville.

4. What changes have you observed in the music industry over the years for good or bad?

The biggest change to me is the digital era. On one hand, people are making some gorgeous recordings now with digital gear - beautiful clarity. Musicians who would never have had access before to a recording studio are now able to make records in their garage or living room.

As everyone knows, the internet has had a hand in making obsolete much of what record companies do. Things have leveled out quite a bit, and that’s a good thing.

The downside is that musical skill, training, or talent are much less significant factors in making records. Much of it comes down to computer savvy - one’s proficiency at editing in ProTools or Nuendo. Anyone can strum 2 passable measures on a guitar, loop it, and wind up with a whole song. There’s not much of a standard anymore for what sounds good.

5. Have you maintained a similar style over the years or are there ways that you have sought to adapt and change? If so, why and how?

Stylistically I think I’ve stayed pretty much the same over the last several years, though the recordings have become more and more sparse instrumentally. My last two records (Shadow of Your Wings and Christmas Songs) both have more of a liturgical sense than previous projects. I guess I feel like they’re more focused around a theme. I’m interested in making more records like that - maybe a series of recordings based on the church calender.

6. What recording (or recordings) of yours are your personal favorite(s)? Why?

The Shadow of Your Wings (AmazonMP3, Hard Copy, ) is the one I’m most attached to out of the last several. It came from a place of deep sorrow for me, losing a friend and some relatives I really loved. I was trying to write songs that would comfort people in mourning. I used passages from scripture as they are used in the Book of Common Prayer. The feedback I’ve gotten about that record has been the most satisfying - or maybe I should say it seems to have hit the mark.

I’m also very attached to my Christmas record (AmazonMP3, Hard Copy, ) which just came out in October. Every song on it has real history and meaning for me personally. I enjoyed making much of it here in my house in the wee hours of the morning when there wasn’t much noise.

7. Is it hard to view your ministry also as a business? What are the unique challenges with this reality and how do you deal with them? Are you conflicted at times? How?

I think I would find it much harder to label my work as a “ministry” just because a good deal of it is driven by commerce - concert ticket sales, CD sales, royalties, etc. The concept of ministry gets confused fairly quickly. That being said, I know that people feel “ministered to” by my music and I definitely understand that aspect of it. I try to accomplish that when I write. Yes - it is quite a tension.

A few years ago in Christian music, there was a tendency to really elevate Christian singers to the stature of pastors and evangelists, as though being a CCM artist was something akin to an office of the church. It seems to me this tendency is going away, and I am glad about it.

8. What do you see yourself doing in the next few years with your musical career?

I’d like to be more productive with my song writing. LIke I mentioned above, I’d love to record some kind of series of liturgical songs for choir and small orchestra maybe based on the church calendar.

I imagine I will still travel and do concerts for a long time. I would really miss that if I couldn’t perform anymore.

9. Congrats on the new baby! How are you feeling as a new Dad later in life?

We’re so elated. I haven’t had time to think about my age very much. In fact, I feel really young since Ruby came. She brings such a joy to our house, hearing her little sweet voice coming from the bedroom when she wakes up and wants to eat. God has blessed Margee and me in a profound way with this baby. Christmas has a whole new meaning.

10.How do you want to be remembered?

Honestly, I never think much about being remembered by people. I’ve been asked that question before and it always feels a bit vain to imagine it. Maybe now with Ruby here, I will think about it differently in the sense that I want to be a good and godly father to her.

You can find more of Fernando Ortega's music here for download or visit his artist store here.