Helen Martens, Grebel ’s first music faculty member, passed away on April 9 at the age of 92, surrounded by family in Winnipeg. Grebel staff and faculty remember her for her extensive contributions to the Music Department and the College community. Helen was a beloved professor at Grebel from 1965 to 1993, initially teaching courses in Music and the Fine Arts, as well as Music and Literature. During her 28 years at the College, she became Director of the College Choir and began piano instruction, while also teaching music history and music appreciation.
“In her pioneering work as a musicologist, pianist, choral director, and supportive mentor, Helen laid the foundation of Grebel’s distinctive music program,” said Music Chair Laura Gray. “The mission she embodied—to equip students in academics, performance, and ensemble work, and to engage them in searching for music’s meaning in its connections with other disciplines and society— continues to inform the direction of the music program today.”
Professor Emeritus Leonard Enns remembers Helen as someone who held uncompromising standards. “She was the founding director of Inter-Mennonite Children’s Choir (IMCC) with which she established an impressive record of choral discipline and excellence, but I knew her mainly as an academic colleague whose ideals were uncompromising and strong,” he recalled. “Her early work blossomed into what is now a very fine liberal arts music program at Grebel. Her work lives on in the Music Department, in the IMCC, and in the blending of solid and balanced academic and performance standards that are the hallmark of the current program.”
Helen’s first book, Hutterite Songs, was based on her doctoral dissertation, and established her as an authority on the music of the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites. She published Felix Mendelssohn, Out of the Depths of his Heart in 2009 and Passion vs. Duty: Felix Mendelssohn, Cecile, Jenny Lind and E.J. in 2012. These two books stem from research she began in the 1980s, translating hundreds of letters written in German Gothic script.
Professor Emerita Carol Ann Weaver also worked with Helen during her time at the College. “Nothing has ever matched Helen’s presence and impact at Grebel—from her vibrant soprano voice cutting through the sea of mostly male voices in College Council, to her raucous and infectious laughter, to her warm-hearted encouragement to all of those who sought her counsel, to her generous guest appearances in my Women and Music Classes where she gave vivid, memorable stories about Fannie and Felix Mendelssohn,” she shared. “Her tireless work and keen scholarship, resulting in various publications, is no better described than in the title of Helen’s most recent book, Passion vs. Duty. The work about Felix Mendelssohn and Jenny Lind reveals how their passions shaped and determined their musical duties. The title alone describes Helen’s own life and work.”
