Lisette's Life

Lisette was born in the Netherlands on 19 October 1971. Her parents ran a successful baking business. She had an older sister and brother. She was blind almost from birth, having had retinoblastoma as a baby.

She moved with her family to Auckland, New Zealand in 1980.

She undertook her music studies at Auckland and Melbourne Universities, graduating with a BA and B.Mus.Hons.

She moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she worked with teachers including Emma Kirkby, Nancy Argenta and Philip Picket, as well as establishing and performing with several early music ensembles.

The Sweelinck Ensemble was one of the early music groups she worked with. They were chosen as a finalist in the York Early Music Competition which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. She also featured as a soloist on BBC Radio 4 as part of the Benjamin Britten Young Artist Programme.

She performed at the Purcell Room with the Sienna Ensemble, and she recorded a CD with the Sienna Ensemble in 2002.

Regular visits to New zealand

One of her personal highlights around this time was being invited back to New Zealand to be the soprano soloist at a concert of Handel's Gloria and Finzi's In terra pax at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Khyber Pass, Auckland in december 2001. It was the New Zealand premier of the Finzi piece, and the southern hemisphere premier of the Handel work.

• Link to the recording of Handel's Gloria
• Link to the recording of Finzi's In terra pax

• LISETTE WESSELING, soprano
• DAVID GRIFFITHS, baritone
• Members of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
• Indra Hughes, conductor

While she was in London, she met her future husband, Neil. She introduced him to the joys of Aotearoa over several trips they made together. They married in London in 2004, and a few months later she brought him back to New Zealand, where they made their home in Wellington.

Wellington Years (2004-2016)

Lisette performed as soprano soloist in Arvo Pärt's Passio, as part of the 2006 Wellington Arts Festival. This was conducted by Karen Grylles and featured UK-based group the Hilliard Ensemble, with whom she was happily reunited after having worked with them while in London.

From her base in Wellington between 2004 and her death in 2016, Lisette maintained relationships with several Auckland-based groups such as The Handel Consort and Quire, Auckland Choral Society, Musica Sacra and Bach Musica. She was a regular soloist at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. She appeared with Baroque Voices and the Kapiti Chamber choir. She was soprano soloist with the Orpheus Choir on several occasions from 2007.

Teaching Career

Lisette was keen to pass on her love of music, and in particular of singing. She started her teaching career while still in the UK, but expanded it greatly once she was back in New Zealand. She taught students who were sighted and blind. Some were adult learners, others were children and young people just finding their own love of music. She also taught children and adults to read braille, knowing that this would broaden their opportunities as blind people.

She was committed to transmitting the skill of reading music notation. Her love of music, of braille and of reading all came together in the publication of her book "Focus On Braille Music" in September 2004, just before she returned home to New Zealand.

Solo recordings

In December 2013, she released her first solo CD, "Music In My Mouth", with Richard Apperley.< She collaborated again with Richard in 2016 to produce what would be her final album.

Lisette also featured on numerous other CDs over the course of her career, and on many radio programmes in New Zealand, the UK and the Netherlands. Details of these and some clips can be found elsewhere on this website.