WITH support from family and friends, Rosina Christina Moder celebrated her birthday last Friday at Redbones Blues Café in New Kingston, with music.

The Austrian-born musician/composer said it helped her rise above an ordeal she experienced in February when she was robbed at an ATM in Kingston.“It was a fun-raising concert with all proceeds for Music Unites Jamaica Foundation. It was also my birthday and a fund-raiser to earn back the money I was robbed of unfortunately in front of an ATM of a prominent bank. A bike man, with a guy on the back, followed me from one bank to another and grabbed my bag with funds for the Music Foundation’s project,” Moder told the

Jamaica Observer.“I am pleased to let you know, that over half of the money stolen was recovered with this noble joint activity. Redbones, Island Dairy Ltd and Pure National Ice were our sponsors.”A full house attended the event, billed ‘Musical Families and Musical Friends Performing in Aid of Music Unites Jamaica Foundation’. They were entertained by artistes who performed diverse forms of music — from classical to jazz to reggae and rock.Moder was accompanied by her husband Peter Ashbourne on keyboards, their son Jeremy Ashbourne on drums, Chris Campbell on guitar, and Carlton Jarrett on bass.Ernie Smith gave a pleasing performance that included

I Can’t Take It (Tears On My Pillow), When Last You Talk To Jesus and

Blind Man Swimming. The last he co-wrote with Peter Ashbourne.Other contributors to the worthwhile effort were the quartet Flauto Dolce Kingston Recorder Ensemble. They did the revival standard

Keyman, Peace And Love and

Rastaman Chant. The Recorder Trio, along with Jeremy Ashbourne on congo drums, did

Linstead Market, Steal Away and

Go Down Moses.The Pimento String Quartet — which included Moder on recorder and Peter Ashbourne on piano — entertained with

Crystal Spring from Ashbourne’s

Blind Man Swimming album, and When

Last You Spoke To Jesus, a Smith original.The Shawn Richards Life Guitar Group, Michael Sean Harris, Luis Felipe Bellorin, father and son duo of Rasheed and Norman McCallum as Nylon and Steel, Symone Thomas, poet Judith Hamilton, and The Eye of The Brainstorm also performed.— Basil Walters