FEW musical styles can stir the human spirit quite like choral singing.

Performing sacred or secular pieces, the emotional power a choir can muster is quite remarkable.

And I've said on many occasions how well off we are to have such a rich vein of choral societies flowing through our region.

One of our finest, Kendal Choral, returns to the concert platform on Saturday, April 11 (7.30pm) at Kendal's St Thomas' Church with a programme that includes Charpentier's Te Deum and Vivaldi's Gloria, and features well known soloists, Emily Robinson, Anastasia Micklethwaite, James Griffett and John Lofthouse, an orchestra led by Wendy Cann and Philippa De Villiers playing Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Suite.

The Best of Baroque concert sees KC's conductor of 25 years Alan Gardner pick up the society's baton for the final time with Duncan Lloyd, recently appointed as director of music at Kendal Parish Church - who also conducts Lancaster Singers - formally taking over the reins from Alan in September.

"I think that 25 years with one choir is long enough," explains Alan, "not just for me but perhaps the choir might think so as well. It just seemed the right time for the choir to have someone with new ideas and a different approach to challenge them and I also have a scan soon to establish the extent of increasing deafness in one ear – not an ideal situation for a conductor to be in."

Alan moved up to Cumbria from Dorset in 1984, to be head of music at the newly reorganised Dallam School. His parents were already living in Kendal, and within a year he was conducting Arnside Choral. He was appointed conductor of Kendal Choral in September 1989 following the retirement of the long-serving previous conductor, one of the musical giants of the Kendal musical scene at that time, Daphne Lester.

For Alan, memorable KC moments down the years include the first performance in the area of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, staging great choral classics such as Messiah and Elijah and performances with other choral groups and instrumental ensembles such as wind bands and brass bands.

"If I had to pick one highlight it has to be the link we formed with French choir Toutes Aures from the Chartreuse region and the very first joint concert we did with them in France back in 2002.

"It was a Messiah I conducted in a huge sports hall that attracted an audience of nearly 1,000. After long applause at the end I managed to explain to the French, in French, goodness knows how they understood, the English tradition of standing for the Hallelujah Chorus which we performed as an encore with the whole audience on their feet. There was even a small group of nuns who took the idea one step further and danced along to the music. It was brilliant."

"I guess the main focus of my time with Kendal Choral has been the idea of broadening repertoire. Yes, we’ve sung many of the choral classics, but we’ve also enjoyed the variety of music such as arrangements from musicals. I suppose a concert we did a year or two back with Kirkby Lonsdale Brass band entitled From Abba to Zadok sums it up - variety of music and enjoying music-making with others."

Life after KC for Alan still involves directing Storth Entertainers youth drama group Kids on the Bay with his wife Sue and Jude Johnson and he's treading boards himself in an Ayckbourn play with the theatre group in May.

"I’m a senior moderator for GCSE music with one of the national exam boards and very busy with the life of our Methodist church in Arnside. On top of that we have six grandchildren between the age of two months and 11years which helps to keep both of us young in outlook if not energy."

As for choral singing, Alan says its one of the most natural forms of artistic expression, the human voice being capable of portraying an enormous range of emotions: "The foundation of so many choral societies back in the 19th Century (Kendal Choral being one of the oldest) was one of the key factors in helping to establish the renaissance of British music which has grown to be such an integral part of the artistic life of the nation. No where more so than here in South Lakeland where we have a number of choral societies producing quality performances year in, year out.

"Having taught in Surrey, Dorset and Cumbria I can honestly say that I have not experienced such depth in choral singing anywhere else I have lived. Long may it continue to thrive in the South Lakes."

Meanwhile, for the April 11 concert, the ladies of Kendal Choral have decided to wear butterfly brooches as their 'corsages,' made by a 99-year-old Japanese woman, who lives in Tokyo and sends them to her daughter's friend in Oxford. She has made many hundreds, using Japanese traditional braiding techniques (Kumi himo). Choir chairman Janet Thompson says she was given one of the brooches by her sister-in-law, Yayoi Yamanoi-Smith, who is a committee member of the Oxford University Newcomers’ Club. The club has been running fundraising events to support Tohoku, the poor area in the north of Japan, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. They have raised money towards various community projects, such as the provision of a playground and library, through NGO's Helping Hands for Japan project.

"Even after four years a lot of people still live in temporary accommodation and children don’t have anywhere to play. The new facilities have helped to build up community spirit and morale. I suggested to the ladies of this choir that we might wear these butterflies and at the same time help a worthwhile project. They were all enthusiastic and as well as buying them to wear at our concerts have also been buying them as gifts for family and friends. As a result to date we have raised more than £250 and hope to make it more. Our money will go towards buying some musical instruments for the children, as everything they had was lost. So music it is said transcends all boundaries; we in Kendal Choral are pleased that a side effect of our music will travel to the other side of the world - we may even send them a recording of us singing."

Additionally, Kendal Choral host a Come and Sing with new conductor Duncan and the choir in taster sessions on Thursdays, April 23/30 and May 7, 7.30pm-9.30pm at Kendal's Kirkland Hall.

The new choir season starts on Thursday, September 10.

Tickets for Best of Baroque are available from Made in Cumbria, Branthwaite Brow, Kendal, on 01539-730702 or at the door.