SARAH BLAKE never feels more alive than standing, baton in hand, conducting a choir and orchestra. She starting conducting 27 years ago and is one of a handful of female conductors in the UK.  Louise Howeson spoke to Sarah about her love of music following the news American conductor Marin Alsop is set to be the Last Night of the Proms’ first female conductor in its 118-year history.

"WHEN it comes to conducting, it’s a bit like painting a picture – you cannot be too rigid about it. You have to change and adapt when things aren’t working and let it evolve.

I get a gut reaction during a concert and I know when things are not flowing and it can be as simple as moving into a different position so everyone can make eye contact with me.

I tell them, 'I’m getting lonely with no one looking at me', to keep them focused. My role is to keep a clear beat and see the bigger picture so I can bring the whole thing together and carry everyone through. I started conducting Lexden Church Choir 27 years ago, founded the Lexden Choral Society 21 years ago and the youth choir 11 years ago.

I studied music at Colchester Institute in the late Seventies and when I graduated, I became a music and singing teacher and freelance musician. Conducting was just a natural progression from there.

I always feel my most confident and my most alive when I am conducting in front of a crowd.

It is funny because I am not necessarily the most confident person all the time, but put me in front of an audience and I am. The bigger the better!

There might be one or two other female conductors, but I have never met any yet!

I don’t know why that is, but I am sure it does not make any difference whether you are male or female. It is about confidence and the ability to bring people together.

Perhaps it is because it is traditional to have a male conductor and women may not consider it. Hopefully Marin Alsop will inspire many more women to start conducting.

At the weekend we performed Handel’s Messiah from scratch. That means there were no rehearsals and I had 120 people come along, some I hadn’t met, and brought the whole piece together in one day.

There were about 50 people from Lexden Choral society and other people from Clacton, Braintree and Ipswich. Some of them had never sung before and it was great to be able to show them what they can do.

I like to give the opportunity to be part of something and it is very satisfying to get to the final run-through and see the look of delight on their faces.

In the Lexden Choral Society we mix people who have a lot of experience with people who might not have any experience. I love that sense of teamwork and bringing people together to create something.

It is about team community and creating something together.

I still perform solo so I can keep my hand in the performing side of it.

Last week I went from conducting a classical piece to singing jazz at the Headgate Theatre. I love variety and I enjoy all music. I get a certain type of freedom when performing solo as there is no pressure on me to think about anyone else.

I can just completely enjoy the music. I like to convey that to the audience because I think when they see you are having a good time they enjoy it more too.

The biggest concert I have organised was a spring production of Howard Blake’s music, the society’s patron, at Charter Hall.

There were 200 singers, including 100 children and 100 adults, 40 in the orchestra and dancers from the Royal Academy. It was great to see it all come together.

It is different when working with professional orchestral players. You still need to bring them in for certain parts of the performance where they can be waiting for three or four minutes, but then they know what they are doing.

They still need the beat, but it is not so much about instilling the confidence.

With an amateur group there is a need to give them confidence and encouragement. In the choir there is a real mix and it is really ageless. There is not an elitist feel to it, you can be a complete novice and come and join in.

I have belonged to a church choir since I was a child and when I was asked to take over at Lexden, I brought that experience with me and it seemed to come naturally.

I was born in Hampshire and grew up in Colchester and I have vivid memories of singing in Lexden choir when I was a child.

It was tied in with Sunday going to church and then coming back for a roast lunch. Everything I do is connected to being part of a wider community and trying to create something that brings people together.

It does mean with rehearsals and concerts and two services on Sundays I am very busy, but there’s nothing I would rather do."