Laurier mourns Professor Emeritus Victor Martens

Wilfrid Laurier University is saddened by the passing of Victor Martens, professor emeritus in the Faculty of Music, on Nov. 25, 2018 in his 87th year.

Martens was an award-winning professor at Laurier for 37 years, beginning in 1969, and was a powerful influence in both music education and performance around the world. He is credited with starting Laurier’s voice program, growing the reputation of the Faculty of Music and coaching hundreds of students, many of whom have gone on to sing on the most important stages of the world.

Before beginning his career at Laurier, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1964, Martens performed with symphony orchestras in Germany as well as in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver and Kitchener-Waterloo. His performances have been broadcast on the radio in London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Geneva, as well as on CBC Radio.

Martens has won numerous awards for his contributions at Laurier, including the Outstanding Alumni Award in 1986, the Teacher of the Year Award in 1987, and the Hoffman-Little Award for Excellence in Teaching and Professional Endeavors in 2011. In 1992, he was recognized with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Waterloo.

"Victor inspired me during the most magical years of my musical life,” says Jane Archibald (BMus ’99), a former student of his. “Many exciting things have come to pass in my career, but it is my years of discovery, working with Victor, that stand out as the most thrilling. His support, his contagious joy about the art of singing and his unwavering belief in my abilities resonate as strongly today as they did then. His legacy will be deep and enduring, as is my gratitude for the gifts he gave me. I will miss him."

Martens continued to work after his retirement, including this term, when he taught a studio course for a fellow professor on sabbatical.

“Victor was, above all, passionate and totally dedicated, every moment of every day,” says Leslie De’Ath, professor in the Faculty of Music. “He devoted his professional life to exploring the mysterious alchemy of building great voices. As his studio accompanist and coach throughout the 1980s, I cannot recall a single lesson in which his commitment to his students flagged. He was ever inspired and inspiring, in a way that can be appreciated fully only by those fortunate enough to have worked with him directly, either as colleague or student. And that gift lives on in the thousands of musicians whose own lives are that legacy.”

Flags will be lowered to half-mast across the university in recognition of this loss to the Laurier community.

There will be no funeral, but a musical celebration of his life will be held in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region or Mennonite Central Committee.

Victor Martens 1931 - 2018

Victor Martens - Passed away peacefully at KW Health Centre of Grand River Hospital, Kitchener on Sunday, November 25, 2018 after suffering a stroke 10 days previous.

Dear husband and best friend of Beth Ann de Sousa. Loving father of Clarence (Beth), Christine (Glen) Morrison, Andrew (Janice), Tim (Shirley), and Cynthia (Tom) Steele; devoted step-father of Martin de Sousa. Will be fondly remembered by his 10 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law Gwen Startek, Beth Ann’s mother and siblings, numerous nieces and nephews.

The youngest of six born to Russian Mennonite immigrants, Victor left his hometown of Yarrow, BC, to pursue music studies in Winnipeg and Detmold, Germany. After a decade of teaching at MBBC in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Victor moved to Waterloo in 1969 to create the voice program at WLU. Under his leadership, it quickly became one of the leading programs in Canada, known for the solid technical foundation given to its students. The recipient of several teaching awards, both as a member of the Faculty of Music and as Professor Emeritus, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from U of W, Victor never truly retired. He was, in fact, currently teaching at WLU having given lessons and a master class the day before suffering the stroke. Former students carry on his legacy of teaching and performing throughout the world. Well-known and respected as a conductor, he particularly enjoyed his collaborations with the CBC, the former Canadian Chamber Ensemble, the KW Symphony and the Grand River Baroque Festival. As a performer, Victor sang everything from gospel to opera, but his beautiful lyric tenor was especially recognized as an interpreter of lieder and the roles of the Evangelist in Bach’s oratorios.



Victor Martens Musical Celebration of Life, March 14, 2019

The Laurier community is invited to a musical celebration of the life of Victor Martens on Monday, May 20th at 2 p.m. at The Church of St. John the Evangelist in Kitchener. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

Victor Martens, an award-winning professor at Laurier for 37 years, passed away this past November in his 87th year.

Martens was an award-winning professor at Laurier for 37 years, beginning in 1969, and was a powerful influence in both vocal pedagogy and performance around the world. He is credited with starting Laurier’s voice program, growing the reputation of the Faculty of Music and coaching hundreds of students, many of whom have gone on to sing on the most important stages of the world.

Performers include:

• Penderecki String Quartet
• Jane Archibald '99
• Theodore Baerg ‘77
• Leslie De'Ath
• James Mason
• Julie Baumgartel
• Amy Hamilton
• Keith Atkinson
• Margaret Kvamme
• Howard Dyck conducting a chamber choir of former students

© 2019 Wilfrid Laurier University