Tabor to host Fernando Ortega concert Feb. 2

Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Fernando Ortega will take the Richert Auditorium stage for a concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, in the Shari Flaming Center for the Arts on the Tabor College campus in Hillsboro.

Ortega is known for his interpretations of traditional hymns and songs, such as “Give Me Jesus” and “Be Thou My Vision,” and for writing clear, easily understood songs, such as “This Good Day.”

Born and raised in Albuquerque, N.M., near the banks of the Rio Grande, Ortega started learning piano at eight years of age.

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of New Mexico. It is from his heritage and classical training during his university years that Ortega derives his sound, which embraces country, classical, Celtic, Latin American, world, modern folk and rustic hymnody.

Ortega has received three Dove Awards during his career. In 1998 he was feted for his bluegrass song, “Children of the Living God,” in 2000 he received a Dove for the Inspirational Album called “Home,” and two years later he received the award for Special Event Album of the Year, “City on a Hill,” which included guest artists.

The public is invited. Tickets for the Ortega concert can be purchased online at https://tabor.edu/tickets. Prices vary with seat selection: $10 or $20 for the general public, and $40 for the VIP section, which includes a post-concert meet-and-greet with the artist, plus refreshments.