BRUNSWICK – Empowerment, support and positive identity are three of the Search Institute’s 40 developmental assets that young people need to grow up healthy, caring and responsible.

These are some of the positive themes that Susan Savell, a Maine musician, ordained minister and administrator, has woven into her refreshing and eclectic new release, “Take My Hand.”

Savell released the compact disc in May. The album features many sorts of music, such as gospel, ’50s rock ‘n’ roll, blues and ballads because it’s “music that I hear, and I enjoy all different kinds of music,” and she wanted to include music for everybody in the family.

Savell also describes the inspiration behind some of the songs. For instance, the title track, “Take My Hand,” was written for children who lost someone on Sept. 11, but the lyrics can speak to anyone who has lost a loved one. Savell also knew that she wanted to write a number with blues influence, and incorporated that into “Fat Auntie,” a song she wrote with her nephews in mind. “Promise Me” is a work in which she and a girl singer duet in a tune about mentoring.

In support of her CD, her label, Heartlight Records, held CD release concerts in Portland, Augusta and Bangor. She performed with a 10-person ensemble led by musical director and arranger Flash Allen. The CD features young musicians, and Savell invited local youth choruses to participate on some songs during each performance.

The concerts were sponsored by and benefited Communities for Children, a statewide initiative of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet designed to promote positive child and youth development.

When she received a grant to make this recording, she decided to “make a contribution to getting the information about the assets of the Search Institute to the community,” and combine her work with her music.

The Search Institute is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that seeks to advance the well-being of adolescents and children. The 40 developmental assets are based in research on child and adolescent development.

Proceeds from CD sales will benefit the Maine Mentoring Partnership, of which Savell is a member of the board of directors. The purpose of the Maine Mentoring Partnership is to promote, foster and support youth mentoring programs in Maine.

This project wouldn’t be the first time she has tied music to her work. As an ordained minister for the United Church of Christ, Savell combined her childhood knowledge of the piano with voice lessons taken as an adult to create a CD exploring women’s spirituality.

When she found it difficult to interest a large label in her music, she founded her own label, Heartlight Records, which produced the CD “The Power of My Love for You” in 1986.

After its release, she shifted to consulting work for the United Church of Christ, focusing on child abuse and prevention. Acting as a consultant eventually led her to child-abuse prevention councils in Maine, a state she had fallen in love with during church visits as a minister.

She became executive director of the Maine Association of Child Abuse and Neglect Council. After that, she worked on the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet as executive coordinator of the statewide prevention initiative, Communities for Children.

She hopes to “use the music to get a positive message out about youth” in the state and beyond.