Favela Brass

What Favela Brass does

Associação Musical Favela Brass (operating as Favela Brass) is a nonprofit music education association founded in 2014 in Rio de Janeiro by British trumpet player Tom Ashe. The organisation delivers free, structured music education in brass and percussion to children and teenagers aged 8-18 from Rio's favelas and municipal public schools, taught through a proprietary 8-level curriculum delivered in person by 16 specialist teachers across 8 partner municipal schools and 3 community spaces in the Pereira da Silva favela (Santa Teresa), supplemented by Saturday bridging classes at Curvelo. As of 2025, the programme served approximately 203 active students, delivered 810 classes, and staged 63 performances reaching 27,410 audience members; since inception it has reached more than 800 young people.

The core technology is the Favela Brass Curriculum: an original 8-level progression with internal exams that mirror the Music Teachers' Board (UK) Ofqual-regulated format, alongside a free online platform (curriculo.favelabrass.org) offering PDF sheet music, playalong tracks and YouTube video lessons across 9 instruments (trumpet, trombone, tuba, clarinet, alto/tenor sax, percussion, recorder, melodica). Advanced students sit external MTB exams — 100% pass rate across all 22 such exams since inception. Four active student bands (Banda Preta, Banda Roxa, Banda Amarela, Banda das Meninas), a monthly Baile Brass community event, a Brazil-Germany exchange with Jugendmusikkorps Bad Kissingen (2024 / 2026), and the documentary 'O Som do Morro' (Festival do Rio 2025) extend the programme's reach.

The business model is donation- and sponsorship-funded, not commercial. All education services are provided free to students. In 2025, total resources of R$ 1,259,395 came from the Lei Rouanet cultural incentive project (PRONAC 254750), with PRIO (PetroRio) as principal sponsor contributing R$ 1,000,000 and individual Lei Rouanet donors contributing R$ 14,000, plus R$ 230,540 of own revenue (performance fees, merchandise) and R$ 14,855 in financial returns. Donor channels include monthly recurring donations via Benfeitoria (from R$ 20/month), one-time donations via PIX, bank transfer and PayPal, and tailored corporate partnership packages. The association is governed by an 8-member volunteer Board of Directors and operates with no commercial sales motion, no equity, and no parent company.

Name

Favela Brass

Legal name

Associação Musical Favela Brass

Website

https://favelabrass.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Favela Brass is a Rio de Janeiro nonprofit founded in 2014 that delivers free, structured brass and percussion music education to around 203 children and teenagers from favelas and public schools via an 8-level curriculum with international MTB certification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Music Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161), Fine Arts Schools (611610), Technical and Trade Schools (61151)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Instruction (Instrumental & Vocal) (EDAMAAAE)

Keywords

• Community music education
• Brass instrument training
• Youth nonprofit programme
• Music curriculum development
• Social impact arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Rio de Janeiro

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Lei Rouanet Cultural Incentive (Corporate Sponsorship): Brazil's Federal Culture Incentive Law (Lei Rouanet / PRONAC 254750) is the primary funding mechanism. Companies can direct up to 4% of their income tax due, with 100% deduction. PRIO is the principal sponsor via this mechanism, contributing R$ 1,000,000 in 2025. This is ring-fenced funding exclusively for the approved project plan.
2. Lei Rouanet Individual Donations: Individuals with Brazilian tax obligations can direct up to 6% of income tax via Lei Rouanet on full tax returns, with 100% deduction. In 2025 this generated R$ 14,000 in individual donations through the programme.
3. Monthly Recurring Donations (Benfeitoria Platform): Monthly donations from individuals starting at R$ 20/month via the Benfeitoria crowdfunding platform, sustaining the project long-term from international and domestic donors.
4. One-Time Donations (PIX, Bank Transfer, PayPal): One-time donations of any amount via PIX (key: CNPJ 37.332.605/0001-90), bank transfer (Banco do Brasil), or international PayPal, welcoming contributions from anyone globally.
5. Corporate Partnerships (Tailored Packages): Event sponsorship, brand association, and corporate volunteering programmes. Partners receive event visibility, VIP invitations, exclusive performances for teams, and quarterly impact reports. Packages are tailored/quote-based.
6. Own Revenue (Non-Incentivised): R$ 230,540 in own revenue in 2025 (separate from Lei Rouanet). Sources include performance fees, merchandise, and other programmatic revenue, contributing to the Association's general operating budget.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Favela Brass is a nonprofit association that delivers free, structured music education in brass and percussion instruments to children and teenagers from Rio de Janeiro's favelas and municipal public schools, through an 8-level proprietary curriculum, weekly in-person classes at 8 partner schools and within the Pereira da Silva community, and a free online curriculum platform offering PDF sheet music, playalong tracks, and video lessons. Advanced students progress to formal Music Teachers' Board (UK) international certification exams, and student bands perform at major venues and festivals locally and abroad.

Product overview

Favela Brass operates as a unified music education programme built around two interlocking offerings: in-person instruction at community centres and partner schools in Rio de Janeiro, and the freely accessible online Currículo Favela Brass platform (curriculo.favelabrass.org). The online curriculum provides PDF sheet music, playalong backing tracks, and YouTube video lessons across 5 levels each for trumpet, trombone, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, and tuba, plus 2-level percussion and single-course recorder and melodica programmes. Student brass and percussion bands — Banda Preta, Banda Roxa, and Banda das Meninas — perform regularly at major venues and through the monthly Baile Brass event. A Brazil–Germany exchange programme with Jugendmusikkorps Bad Kissingen and the documentary film O Som do Morro extend the programme's reach internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Associação Musical Favela Brass Music Education Programme Free music education programme in brass and percussion instruments for children and teenagers from Rio de Janeiro's favelas and public schools, delivered through a structured 8-level curriculum with internal and external international (MTB/UK) certification. Students form bands that perform at festivals, theatres, and events across Rio state and beyond.
• Currículo Online Favela Brass (Online Curriculum Platform) Free online music curriculum providing PDF sheet music, playalong backing tracks, and video lesson playlists for 9 instruments (trumpet, trombone, tuba, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, percussion, recorder, melodica), structured in progressive levels each approximately one year of study, freely accessible to any individual or project worldwide.
• Favela Brass nas Escolas (School Workshops) Weekly introductory music workshops delivered in 8 partner municipal primary schools (Ensino Fundamental) across Rio de Janeiro under a partnership with the Secretaria Municipal de Educação, with instruments, teaching materials, and specialist teachers provided at no cost to students.
• MTB International Certification Programme International music examination pathway through the Music Teachers' Board (UK), Ofqual-regulated, with 8 progressive levels and 4,000+ exam centres across 50+ countries. Level 8 is equivalent to university music entrance requirements. Favela Brass reports a 100% pass rate across 22 external MTB exams since programme inception.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96.6% practical exam pass rate (85 exams); 100% pass rate on all 22 external MTB international exams since programme inception
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jugendmusikkorps der Stadt Bad Kissingen (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024German youth brass band that visited Rio in September 2024 with 73 musicians, participating in open rehearsal at Coreto Modernista and a joint parade through Santa Teresa at the Arte de Portas Abertas festival. In July 2026, Favela Brass founder Tom Ashe led reciprocal workshops in Bad Kissingen. A sustained bilateral cultural exchange.
• Music Teachers' Board (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based international music examination board (Ofqual-regulated) providing certification for Favela Brass's advanced students. 22 students have sat external MTB exams with 100% pass rate since programme inception. The MTB system has 8 progressive levels across 4,000+ exam centres in 50+ countries.
• Secretaria Municipal de Educação do Rio de JaneirocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRio de Janeiro Municipal Department of Education. Partnership enables weekly music workshops in 8 public schools, reaching approximately 149 students. The programme operates in the contraturno (outside regular school hours).
• Taylor Segrest (USA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilmmaker who directed 'O Som do Morro' (22-min documentary), which premiered at the Festival do Rio 2025 and documents a decade of Favela Brass. The film was described as a vibrant collage of live music and interviews.
• Pizzaria Zola / Uwe FabichminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwner of Pizzaria Zola in Santa Teresa offered a wing of his colonial mansion at Largo do Curvelo to Favela Brass for use as rehearsal, class, and performance space from 2026, after watching the band at the Honk!Rio festival in November 2025.
• Associação dos Moradores da Comunidade Pereira da SilvacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResidents' association of the Pereira da Silva community where Favela Brass's primary community-based classes take place. Essential community partner enabling the programme's base within the favela.
• Centro Assunção, Santa TeresaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity space in Santa Teresa where Favela Brass conducts classes as part of its multi-space approach in the Pereira da Silva community.
• Sociedade Britânica do Rio de JaneirominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBritish Society of Rio de Janeiro — a community organisation supporting British nationals and cultural initiatives in Rio, relevant given founder Tom Ashe's British nationality.
• Bourbon Street Music Club, São PaulominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSão Paulo-based music venue and club. The band performed at Bourbon Festival Paraty (with stage presence in São Paulo also noted).

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• New England Conservatory Preparatory School: Boston-based conservatory's preparatory programme offering structured instrumental music education with progressive levels and external certification pathways. Comparable curriculum structure and certification orientation, but tuition-based and not focused on underserved communities.
• Berklee City Music: Boston-based Berklee College of Music initiative providing music education to underserved youth across a network of partner sites. Comparable mission and target demographic, but operates as part of a much larger institutional platform with broader programme scope and resources.
• Carnegie Hall's Musical Connections: Carnegie Hall's community music programme serving people in carceral settings, healthcare settings, and other community contexts. Comparable community-embedded music education mission, but operates as part of a globally renowned institution with substantially larger resources and broader programme scope.

Direct peers

• Play On, Philly!: Philadelphia-based El Sistema-inspired programme providing free, intensive music education to children from underserved communities through intensive ensemble-based instruction. Closely aligned in pedagogy, demographics served (low-income urban youth), and not-for-profit funding model.
• Harmony Program: New York City nonprofit providing free, high-quality music education to children from underserved communities, inspired by El Sistema. Comparable structure: free group lessons, ensemble rehearsals, and performance opportunities for low-income urban youth.
• Community MusicWorks: Providence, RI nonprofit providing free, long-term music education to children from low-income backgrounds, with intensive private teaching and ensemble participation. Directly comparable free-tuition community-embedded model with strong social-mission orientation.
• El Sistema: The foundational Venezuelan network of youth orchestras serving children from low-income communities. Directly comparable mission (free classical/brass music education for marginalised youth), structured curriculum with progressive levels, and ensemble-based performance pedagogy. Favela Brass explicitly models its approach on this framework.

Emerging players

• Little Kids Rock: US nonprofit providing free music lessons and instruments to students in under-resourced public schools, with focus on modern band (guitar, bass, keyboard, drums). Partial overlap in free music education for underserved youth in public schools, but different instrument focus (popular music vs. classical brass/percussion).
• Music for All Foundation: US nonprofit dedicated to providing musical instruments and music education opportunities to underserved communities and schools. Comparable mission of expanding music access to underserved youth, with focus on instrument provision and school partnerships.

Regional players

• Orquestra Jovem Brasileira: Brazilian youth orchestra programme providing free music education to children from low-income communities. Directly comparable mission and Latin American context, but operates at national scale with different programmatic structure and funding model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@favelabrass
• Facebookfacebook.com/favelabrass
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/favela-brass
• Instagraminstagram.com/favela_brass

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Favela Brass