Album Notes

Laura Greenwald, 13, from Amesbury, Massachusetts released the CD “Believe – a holiday music collection” to benefit the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center in Newburyport and Amesbury, and The Pettengill House in Salisbury, Massachusetts. The Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center educates about domestic violence and helps victims. The Pettengill House assists less fortunate families and individuals with food, shelter and clothing.

The CD is a collection of holiday songs and narrative excerpts performed by children aged 9 to 14, and is arranged in sets on Christmas memories with extracts from "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas; a tribute to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" including 9-year-old Neil He performing the complete Fur Elise that Schroeder never got to finish and 9-year old William Greenwald reciting the passage from Luke on what Christmas is all about; and "The Little Match Girl" interspersed with carols and songs representing the visions the Little Match Girl sees when she strikes the matches, including Laura's haunting rendition of "Walking in the Air." The CD concludes with an excerpt from "A Christmas Carol" in which Scrooge realizes that "nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; . . . His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him." The total length is 54:12.

The other performers on the CD are Justin Knowlton, Alex Allen, Allison Russo, Delaney Hulbert, and Julianna Matthews.

The CD project represents Laura’s year-long effort to combine her love of music and singing with community service. After Laura selected the music and literary excerpts, and garnered support for the project, the performers rehearsed through the spring at the River Valley Charter School in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The performers originally recorded at Stefanopoulos Recording Studio in Amesbury with Stefan Tsiplakis who donated studio time. However, after recording several tracks the studio was robbed and all recordings lost. Despite the setback, the performers rallied and completed the project with renewed determination.

Selected tracks were then recorded, mixed and edited by Roger Ebacher at: REBACH MUSIC, 1 1/2 Park Street, Newburyport, MA, 978-463-0159, www.angelfire.com/ma/rebach, who donated studio time, skills, suggestions and artistry.

All proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center and The Pettengill House. As Laura writes in the liner notes, "I hope everyone who listens to this CD will hear and experience some of the generosity and adventure that made it possible."