4 girls enjoy ‘Sweet Freedom’

ORRINGTON – Four young ladies, all of Orrington, have unexpectedly found themselves charming the community with their voices.

Lauren Nichols, 15; Kristen Huff, 13; Kristyn Murphy, 14; and Jewels Watson, 12, are enjoying the success of their new CD, “Sweet Freedom.”

“We started the CD because of September 11,” said Nichols, now a freshman at John Bapst Memorial High School.

“It all steamrolled from the song ‘American Tears,'” said Pauline Dickey, music director at Center Drive School in Orrington. Dickey had been asked in 2002 to have some students in her music program sing a brief song at the school in remembrance of 9-11. She described “American Tears,” written by Teresa Jennings of Plank Road Publishing, as the “perfect piece.”

Dickey arranged for the four girls to sing the song, and they worked every day over lunch for the two weeks. Both the song and performance were a hit – so much so that the girls had to sing two more times that same day for different grades and staff at the school.

“There were teachers with tears rolling down their cheeks,” Dickey said.

The girls also sang the song at the 2003 Orrington eighth-grade graduation – in which Nichols was a graduate – and at the Christmas concert.

“They received a standing ovation and there were many wet eyes,” Dickey said of the girls’ Christmas concert performance.

“We made a CD because there were so many requests to have [‘American Tears’] recorded,” Murphy said. So the girls, known as the Center Drive Singers, along with Dickey decided to put together a collection of patriotic songs. The singers worked through the summer, starting in June 2003, and finished in December. They worked weekends and after school to put it together.

“It came out incredible,” said Watson.

“We did the songs in sections. And then we put them together,” Murphy said.

Huff described the experience as “cool, I guess. It’s cool that we could sing the songs to kind of say thank you to the vets and stuff.” And Nichols said it feels good to have made a compact disc.

The Center Drive Singers first recorded at the East Orrington Congregational Church. Then Murphy’s brother, Joshua, built a sound room in the Murphy house attic for recording.

“It’s so cool,” Murphy said, adding that her brother is taking classes at the University of Maine. “He sort of taught himself.”

Another brother of Murphy, Michael, paid $2,000 to have 1,000 CDs burned professionally. And yet another brother, Jonathan, took the pictures for the cover.

“Sweet Freedom” features eight songs, five of which were written by Teresa Jennings and used with permission. Instrumental accompaniment was produced from background CDs. At least 200 CDs have sold already, Dickey said.

“Sweet Freedom” is available in the office at Center Drive School, at the Orrington Public Library and at the Orrington Town Office for $10. In the near future it also will be available in small stores around the town. The money goes toward Center Drive School’s music and drama programs.

At 1:30 p.m. April 18, at the East Orrington Congregational Church, the Center Drive Singers will present a free concert to promote the CD. They will sing a mix of songs, some from “Sweet Freedom,” and eight new ones with a variety of subjects and themes.

For now the girls, all of whom are involved in several extracurricular activities, have no plans to produce another CD, “but it was definitely a great experience,” Watson said, adding that she appreciates how much work is involved in creating a CD.

To obtain information on Center Drive Singers or the “Sweet Freedom” CD, or to purchase a CD, call the school at 825-3697, or visit www.centerdrivesingers.com.