On Wednesday, October 10, at the Institute of Jamaica, on East Street, Kingston, presented the 2018 Musgrave Medals — the oldest award in the western hemisphere — to worthy persons in the field of literature, science and arts.

Among the recipients of the awards, gold medals were presented to Peter Ashbourne in the field of arts (music), Professor Mervyn Morris in the field of literature, and Professor Basil Burke in the field of science.

Silver medals were awarded to Dr Jean “Binta” Breeze for literature, Kingston College Chapel Choir for the arts, and Professor Henry Lowe was awarded for his work in the field of science. The bronze medals were conferred on Professor Oswald Harding in the arts, Dr Leo Douglas in science, and Roland Watson-Grant for literature. The Youth Musgrave Medal was presented to Arthur Williams III (entrepreneurship and public policy). The distinguished lady and gentlemen have been recognised for the work they have done in enriching our country.

Musician/arranger Peter Ashbourne and Poet Laureate (2014 to 2017) Professor Mervyn Morris lead the list of recipients for the Musgrave Medals, awarded by the Institute of Jamaica. Both will receive the gold medal.
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Dub poet Jean “Binta” Breeze and Kingston College Chapel Choir will be awarded the silver medal, while author Roland Watson-Grant and Professor Oswald Harding are among the bronze medallists.

As the adage goes, 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree'. But if there are two trees, the harvest from the orchard is bound to be bountiful.
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In almost every sector of the local music industry, many will be familiar with the name Peter Ashbourne. Those many may, however, be unaware of the fact that this musician's contributions to the local musical landscape have fed into his personal life and produced a family of performers who tread along similar paths, paved by a passion for music.

The audience at the fourth presentation of Uncaged Melodies, the annual concert by the Classical and Jazz Ensemble (CAGE) led by University of the West Indies Music Fellow Peter Ashbourne, got a special treat. They heard the very first public performances of four of Ashbourne’s works ­ just one component of a concert that was made particularly delightful by the variety of the items.

​The three sections of the two-hour-long programme featured classical, jazz and contemporary music performed by a chamber orchestra, a wind ensemble, a string quartet, a jazz combo, and a vocal quartet.

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.
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“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.

FIREBRAND poet Mikey Smith is the focus of Reggae Opera Mikey, composed by noted Jamaican musician Peter Ashbourne.

The opera is scheduled to debut next June, but snippets of it will be shown at the Jamaica School of Music, Edna Manley College on October 8.

It will bring the curtain down on a series of activities by MUSIC Unites Jamaica Foundation, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, located in St Andrew.
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The series opens September 30 and comprises special concerts, workshops and master classes. 'Mikey', however, should get a lot of attention.