Molly Jewell

In Duxbury, Jewell's melodious voice is a near-universal refrain. It rings out at high school talent shows, pep rallies and musicals, at the senior center where she sings show tunes to residents, and at coffeehouses where she performs her own songs. This fall, the aspiring singer-songwriter heads to Nashville, the world's country music capital, in hopes that her hometown appeal will win over the home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Jewell, 18, plans to major in music composition at Vanderbilt University, continuing a love of music that traces back to the first grade, when she began classical piano lessons and sang with her mother, an opera soprano. Music has always carried a deep resonance for Jewell, but in high school she has often shared her love of song with others, from the young students to whom she volunteers to teach piano to the church choir she sings with on weekends.

Jewell has also emerged as a songwriter, penning lyrics about uncertainty in romance, teenage loneliness, and the search for purpose and identity. While her creative energies rely on stirred emotions, the writing process often proves cathartic, she said.

``I usually write better when my feelings are at the surface," she said. ``But it's very soothing."

Singing to audiences was nerve-racking at first, but she has gotten more comfortable on stage.

She is also learning to handle the fear involved in sharing her music with strangers.

``Songs that you write and sing, they're completely your own," she said. ``So if they don't like it, that's really a blow. It's hard to hear, because it's yours."

She has been interning at a Plymouth recording studio, and hopes to record a CD of her music, which is modeled after contemporary singer-songwriters such as Jewel and Sarah McLachlan .

A strong overall student, Jewell has excelled at creative writing; her poetry has been published in a monthly teenage literary magazine, Teen Ink . Diane Zoccolante , who administers the high school guidance office, said Jewell has participated in ``community service projects too numerous to mention."

Jewell is fond of her hometown, where she has worked at an ice cream parlor the past three summers. But she is eager to avoid New England winters and is ready for a bigger stage.

``I like the smallness" of Duxbury, ``but at the same time I hate it," she said. ``In a city, I'll definitely have more to write about."

But first, a summer of canvassing Boston for gigs. She has already played Club Passim, a legendary Cambridge acoustic venue, and is ready for more.

``Now that I can drive, it's easier," she said.