About Us

Charismata (Gifts of Grace) is a small, mixed-voice choir with a passion for ministering to others through Christian sacred music.

Based in Whangarei (New Zealand), the choir is directed by long-time Christian singing artist, teacher and choral conductor, Lisbe Jooste, who explains, “Christian sacred music is where I find true meaning in music. Thus, Charismata is for me, a true gift of grace: a place where I can walk lightly with like-minded people, enjoying our musical abilities to the honour of God. We work to keep music in its rightful place, worshipping the Creator and not the music itself. My hope is that our singing will infuse us with joy and bless many others.”

Lisbe Jooste

Lisbe Jooste, soprano, accompanist and music teacher, is a Co-Founder of Charismata Singers. She acquired her Bachelor of Music and Singing at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and moved to New Zealand in 2009.

Lisbe rapidly made her mark in Whangarei, refreshing her training in classical singing with Evelyn Hatfield and Joan Kennaway and successfully completing the ABRSM Diploma in Music Performance. She has also been accepted as a member of NEWZATS, IRMTNZ and NZCF.

Lisbe initially taught in several schools, but has now settled as a private singing teacher here in Whangarei. She has been a member of Opera North since 2010, the Musical Director of Whangarei Choral Society since 2014 and has also performed as soloist with both organisations. Lisbe established the Whangarei Youth Choir, on request, in 2015 and has now followed this up with Charismata, a long-held dream of hers.

Lisa Taylor

While Lisa Taylor, Co-founder of Charismata has had many (and varied) vocations over the course of her life, music and God have been a constant theme for her. Though perhaps known in the local music community more as a flautist, Lisa has nevertheless had the pleasure to sing with many notable and award-winning choirs over the course of her life, including the Oakham House Choir of Toronto and University of Toronto Hart House Singers (with whom she was a soloist each season she was involved).

In Toronto, Lisa studied voice with Carol Baggott-Forte (star pupil of New York’s Cornelius Reid) and resumed lessons recently with Carol’s student, Alexa Wing, over “Zoom.” While Lisa has performed a wide variety of music in her lifetime—from vocal jazz classics and French Canadian folk songs to Mozart arias—sacred music, performed by a small choir, has always been her keenest passion. Thus, meeting up with a like-minded and like-hearted professional singer and conductor (i.e.,Lisbe) has literally been an answer to her prayers.

It is Lisa’s hope to contribute to the choir through her organisational skills as well as her love for the project and the talented people it has attracted.