CLEF Albuquerque Ensemble Workshop
CLEF ensemble workshops bring highly skilled faculty members to local churches and dioceses. The program is designed specifically for ensemble musicians with the goal of supporting musicians in leading the assembly to full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgy.
All vocalists and instrumentalists are welcome!
Training
Through large and small group sessions, the workshop offers training that is customized to the unique needs of vocalists and instrumentalists in an ensemble setting.
Prayer & Reflection
Prayer is an important part of who we are as liturgical ensemble musicians, and each workshop includes opportunities for prayer and reflection to deepen our connection to God.
Community
Ensemble workshops offer a great opportunity to connect with local liturgical musicians, in addition to connecting with the broader CLEF community.
Dates
Thursday, September 19, 6 pm to 9 pm
Friday, September 20, 8 am to 9 pm
Saturday, September 21, 8 am to 3:30 pm
Participants are invited to stay and help lead music for the 5 pm Mass at St. Charles on Saturday.
Location
St. Charles Borromeo
1818 Coal PL SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Cost
$75 per person
Registration fee includes program sessions, program workbook, concert, three meals on Friday, and two meals on Saturday. Lodging is not included.
Sessions will be in English and Spanish. Friday evening concert by ValLimar Jansen and friends.
CLEF requires that all program participants be 18 years or older, and all program activities are limited to registered participants. We take photographs and video/audio recordings during the program, which may be used by CLEF for marketing purposes. Attendees will be given an opportunity to opt out of photos/videos for marketing at check-in for the program. Cancellations must be submitted via email by September 2 for a refund. No refunds will be giving after that date, but a registration may be transferred to another person.
Have questions? Contact one of our local committee members in Albuquerque.
Gene Ayala
clefabq@icloud.com
505-297-4177
Ken Gilman
ken.gilman@clef.life
505-980-1865
About the faculty
Anna Betancourt
Vocal Ensemble
Anna Betancourt is a professional singer, songwriter, music director, and workshop presenter. She has worked as music director, choral director, and cantor in various parishes of Southern California. She has more than 35 years of experience working with various choirs including youth, children’s, adult, contemporary, traditional, Spanish, and handbells choirs.
Anna graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she studied voice and where she also worked as assistant director of Liturgy and Music. At the archdiocesan level, she has served as a music committee member, a member of the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress Liturgy Committee, and a board member for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.
Anna’s voice can be heard on more than 50 recordings, including some by Bob Hurd, Tony Alonso, John Angotti, Jaime Cortez, and Marty Haugen. Anna’s personal Spanish collection is published through OCP and presents inspiring songs for liturgy, worship groups, or retreats. Her music is also featured in the collection Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Anna is also a member of The Collegeville Composers published through Liturgical Press.
Anna’s passion is for liturgical music and a singing assembly. She is a national speaker and presenter at various conferences and workshops on music and liturgy. Most recently, Anna was music director at Saint Polycarp Catholic Church in the Diocese of Orange and cantor for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Downtown Los Angeles. In addition, Anna was Director of the Spanish Choir at the Cathedral for 11 years.
Anna is married to Mike, her husband of 26 years, and lives in Ft. Worth, Texas. Together they have two boys, Matthew and Samuel.
Jaime Cortez
Instrumental Ensemble, Guitar, Keyboard
Jaime Cortez is a talented and popular composer, arranger, and performer. Born in New York and raised in El Salvador, Jaime has dedicated a portion of his ministry to promoting better Hispanic liturgies and bringing cultures together for worship. His main instrument is guitar, though he is proficient in piano and other string instruments, such as charango, vihuela, and bass guitar. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music composition from Arizona State University. He was named Pastoral Musician of the Year in 2016 by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM).
Some of Jaime’s best-known songs are “Rain Down,” “Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/We Are the Body of Christ” (with Bob Hurd) and “Take Up Your Cross.” He has released six solo collections with OCP, including Rain Down, Sacramentos, Adviento, Qué Alegría/I Rejoiced, Transformation and Pueblo Unido/People United. Recent collaborative projects include Gracia y Amor/Grace and Love, a collection with Bob Hurd and Eleazar Cortés and Our Common Home, a project inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si’, featuring his song “Let Us Sing as We Go,” along with music from several other well-known Catholic composers. Jaime has also translated Mass of Christ the Savior/Misa Cristo Salvador into Spanish and bilingual versions alongside Dan Schutte.
In addition to workshops, Jaime gives concerts with both English and Spanish repertoire, alone or with volunteer groups. He has many years of experience presenting workshops for pastoral musicians, Catholic teachers, and youth on liturgy, music, and ministry.
Jaime is currently director of liturgy and music at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. He lives in Mesa with his wife Kari. They have three sons who are also very talented musically.
Ken Gilman, PhD
Instrumental Ensemble, Obbligato, Mandolin, Violin & More
Ken served for 17 years as music director at St. Michael & All Angels in Albuquerque. He continues to play in his preferred spot on the back row at St. Michael and at St. Charles Borromeo, usually as an obbligato person on mandolin, octave viola, tenor, or bass mandolin. Irish banjo may even have snuck in a time or two. In Albuquerque the past 20 years, he previously worked and played in Celtic bands in both New England (Maine) and Europe (Belgium).
His special passion is creating balance in the ensemble for instruments and voices. In music selection and arrangement, he loves to explore, in addition to lyric content, how the timbre, rhythmic, and melodic characteristics of the music support the flow of the liturgy. Another area of interest for Ken is how we inhabit the continuum of the political to the pastoral, and how the interplay of beliefs and personality combine with the practice of authority and leadership to affect ensemble formation at all levels of the community, from staff to choir/ensemble to assembly. As a semi-retired psychologist and mediator, he does supervision and training work primarily with first responders around teamwork, communication, burnout, and self-care.
Frank Jansen
Instrumental Ensemble, Keyboard
Frank Jansen has been a professional musician for almost 40 years. He has served in parish ministry for over 25 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from California State University at San Bernardino. He has a master’s from Santa Clara University where he received his degree in Liturgical Music with an emphasis on composition. He writes in a wide variety of styles including sacred, gospel, rock, country, jazz, and classical. These works include choral music, piano music, string quartets, woodwind quintets, and a symphony. In addition, he has composed in the musical theatre genre including a musical entitled, “Somebody.” This is a two-person, one-woman show with 23 songs and a prelude. It premiered at a theatrical conference in Iowa in March of 2008.
He has been an educator for over 20 years at Columbia Middle School in El Monte, California. He directs the performing arts department and teaches band, choir, piano, and theatre.
Frank tours extensively as an accompanist for his wife, ValLimar Jansen. Besides ministering and performing throughout the United States, Europe, and Caribbean countries such as St. Kitts and St. Maarten, he had the privilege of performing for the Pope and over 400,00 people in Loreto, Italy in the summer of 2007. During the summer of 2016, he and ValLimar performed at World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. This week-long event was attended by more than 2,000,000 people.
Frank has performed with Jaime Cortez, Tom Booth, Sara Hart, Tom Kendzia, Marty Haugen, Bob Hurd, as well as many other well-known Catholic composers. Frank and his wife, ValLimar, have released the following CDs: Anointing (Spirit and Song), You Gotta Move (Spirit and Song), African American Sacred Songs (GIA), and Ethel (AFW Music). Frank has produced a great number of CDs, including ValLimar’s Christmas CD (Rejoice). He has arranged for many projects, including ValLimar’s African American Sacred Songs, and her recent release, Spirit & Soul.
Benjamin Maes
Instrumental Ensemble, Guitar
Benjamin Maes began serving in music ministry as soon as he could hold and play a guitar. He received his first guitar at the age of eight, and through the guidance and direction of his Catholic school teachers, he began leading music for the weekly Mass in third grade.
He has served the community of St. Anne Catholic Church in Albuquerque for 14 years, including roles as pastoral associate of liturgy and music, business manager, parish administrator, and musical director. He also served for three years as the pastoral associate of liturgy and adult faith formation at St. Mary Parish in Anacortes, Washington.
Currently, he is the pastoral associate for liturgy and evangelization at St. Anne. He also teaches music and assists with liturgy planning at Holy Ghost Catholic School. He developed a comprehensive music curriculum for the school, which teaches fundamentals of music and theory for students from Pre-K through 8th grade. The curriculum incorporates many genres and styles of music used in liturgy, from Gregorian chant to contemporary liturgical music.
Benjamin has been married to his high school sweetheart, Marcia, for 24 years. They have two adult children, Enriquez and AnaLisa.
Register now to join us in Albuquerque!
Frequently asked questions
CLEF defines a liturgical ensemble as any group in which two or more musicians are gathered to lead music for liturgy. Ensembles may be solely instrumental, or they may consist of a group of instruments accompanying one or more singers.
Since the early days following the Second Vatican Council, ensembles have played a significant role in fostering full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgy. From the early folk groups to today’s contemporary ensembles or groups with a distinct name, ensembles have become a leading voice in many churches.
To that end, it is our goal to support the ensemble musician, be they an instrumentalist, cantor, or choral singer. Our program provides sessions for instrumentalists and vocalists to work in separate groups and as a combined ensemble.
We are an inclusive community where all are welcome regardless of gender, race, culture, age, or ability. We welcome musicians of all skill levels, from church communities large and small, urban and rural, whether paid staff or volunteers.
We welcome both individual and group registrations for CLEF ensemble workshops. Payment can be made by credit card or ACH when registering online, or you may bring check or cash the day of the program.
If registering online for a group and submitting one payment, please provide the first and last name for each registrant and an email address (optional) so we can contact them with reminders about the program.
No, you don’t need to be Catholic to attend this program or access our online CLEF Life resources. While our founding board members and faculty primarily serve as ensemble musicians in Catholic church communities, we have multiple ensemble musicians from other faith traditions as part of the CLEF community and as participants at our programs. To quote a popular song from our faith tradition, “All are welcome.”