Pam Ortiz is that rare songwriter who can touch people where they feel deeply, where they laugh and where they cry. She did that for 10 years with the group Terra Nova in the ‘90s playing to packed coffee houses in the Baltimore, Washington area. Terra Nova released three albums featuring Pam’s original music, Angels (released in 1991), Beyond the Gate (released in 1993) and The Tears of the Sun (released in 1997). In 1992, Terra Nova was invited to perform at the Clinton Inaugural at the Kennedy Center primarily on the strength of Ortiz’s songwriting. Terra Nova stopped performing regularly in 1998, although Pam continued to perform for benefits and special causes.

After a more than a decade focusing on work and family, Pam and husband, Bob Ortiz, revived their musical lives in 2011, performing locally on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Before long they were joined by talented local musicians, Nevin Dawson, Ford Schumann, and later Philip Dutton, forming the current Pam Ortiz Band.

Pam returned to the studio in 2012, releasing Rattle Them Chains. The project features several of the members of what would later become the Pam Ortiz Band, Nevin Dawson, Ford Schumann, and husband Bob Ortiz, along with some of the Washington-area’s best studio musicians, Vince Evans, Seth Kibel, Mark Prince, and Michael Bowie. In one of his last recorded performances, the late world-renowned dobro player, Mike Auldridge, graciously contributed his talents to several songs on the album. Rattle Them Chains shows Pam’s songwriting abilities at their genre-busting best. The album features a range of styles from blues to folk, country and even a little jazz.

As a songwriter, Pam Ortiz’s songs are reaching a wider audience in unconventional ways. Her song “Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings)” has become the anthem of an annual fundraising concert “Women Helping Women” and three of her compositions were performed in concert by the 70 voice Chester River Chorale at their Spring 2014 Concert on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

These days finds the Pam Ortiz Band performing in regional listening rooms and concert venues.

In addition to pursuing a musical life, Pam, who has a law degree from Georgetown University, works for the Maryland Judiciary as the Director of the Access to Justice Department. She lives with her family in Chestertown, Maryland.