Friends of Favela Brass raises money in the UK for Favela Brass, a free music school in Rio de Janeiro. Instruments, exam fees, repairs and opportunities: the practical things a brass band of nearly 200 young musicians actually needs.
Favela Brass teaches brass and percussion, free of charge, to children and teenagers in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 2014 by the British trumpeter Tom Ashe, it has grown from a handful of students in the Pereira da Silva favela into a music school working across the city, with former students now on its teaching staff.
Friends of Favela Brass is its supporters' charity in the UK. We were registered with the Charity Commission in 2021 so that donations from Britain could reach the school simply and efficiently. We are run entirely by volunteer trustees; nobody here is paid a penny.
We don't run programmes ourselves. We buy the things the school needs and fund the opportunities its students earn. It is not a complicated model, but it works.
Nine thousand kilometres apart, one partnership: instruments, exam entries and friendship have been crossing the Atlantic since 2021.
An independent Brazilian association with its own board, teachers and funding. Here is what your donations are part of:
Students progress from beginner workshops in state schools to a structured advanced course, playing everything from street carnival to the Copacabana Palace. Several of today's teachers came up through the project themselves.
More at favelabrass.org.
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Watch: Brazil's GloboNews tells the Favela Brass story (11 min, English subtitles)
Four of the school's current teachers first walked through the door as students. Music is now their profession.
Alumni have formed their own professional band, playing paid engagements across Rio, from private events to the carnival circuit.
Students sit the same UK graded music exams as their British counterparts, earning internationally recognised qualifications that outlast any performance.
"I found it so moving, and I think Favela Brass's story is only just beginning. I've been in the project since I was little and it's beautiful to see it grow."
Lúcia · trumpet student, Pereira da Silva favela
"The first time in my life I went on stage was at Circo Voador, and I thought it was amazing! That battle of the bands with all those songs was so good!"
Arthur · trumpet player
We keep our costs at zero and our purchases concrete. Recent examples, all agreed and minuted by the trustees:
From trumpets to this year's baritone saxophone, plus the things nobody photographs: cases, gig bags, reeds, repairs and spare parts, sourced in the UK or in Brazil, whichever is cheaper.
Favela Brass students sit graded exams with MTB, a UK exam board, earning internationally recognised qualifications. We pay the entry fees, one student and one grade at a time.
Have a trumpet gathering dust in the loft? We take donated instruments, have them repaired here in the UK, and get them to Rio. Do email us first so we can plan the journey.
Sound recorders, microphones and lighting so the school can document its performances properly, and so you can see where your money went.
Our founding objects include mutual learning between young musicians in Brazil and Europe. In 2026 we helped fund travel for Favela Brass's first exchange visit to Germany.
Either way, every pound is spent on the school. Our running costs are nil.
One-off gifts or standing orders, made directly to the charity's account: no platform between us, and no fees taken along the way.
Do email sallieashe@hotmail.com when you set one up, so we can say thank you.
We are in the process of setting up online card donations through a giving platform. In the meantime, bank transfers reach the charity directly and in full.
Questions in the meantime? Email our Chair.
Friends of Favela Brass is a charitable incorporated organisation, registered in England and Wales (number 1194144) since April 2021 and based in Doncaster. No trustee receives any payment or benefit.
Our charitable objects, in brief: to advance the musical education of children in Rio de Janeiro by supporting access to musical tuition and instruments, and by helping to facilitate mutual learning and cultural exchange; and to advance in life and relieve the needs of socially disadvantaged young people there. We do this by providing financial and practical assistance to Associação Musical Favela Brass. The full legal wording is on the register.
Our accounts and annual returns are filed on time, every year, and are public: see our entry on the Charity Commission register.
Questions? Write to our Chair: sallieashe@hotmail.com.
