Carnival cortejo, Rio de Janeiro, 2026 · photo Felipe Bezerra
For supporters
The next phase of the Favela Brass and Bad Kissingen partnership: a delegation of recent Favela Brass graduates travels to Germany in May 2027, and the whole network parades together at Berlin's Karneval der Kulturen.
A contribution of €40,000 sends a ten-strong delegation of recent Favela Brass graduates, favela-raised young musicians now starting out in their careers, to Germany in May 2027: first professional instruments for the newest among them, travel for the delegation, and a programme of workshops with our German partner bands, ending with everyone parading together at Berlin's Karneval der Kulturen.
The delegation is the point of the whole exchange. Favela Brass has taught music free of charge in Rio de Janeiro since 2014, and its first generations have now grown up: some of its former students teach at the school today, others are building working lives as musicians in Rio. For a young musician from a favela, a first professional instrument and a first international engagement are the two hardest steps. This project delivers both at once.
The German side is already standing. A band in Bad Kissingen learned the Favela Brass repertoire in a single week in July 2026 and has kept playing ever since; the Mannheimer Bläserphilharmonie performed alongside Favela Brass in Rio the same month; Funkhaus Berlin hosts the gathering. What the network is waiting for is the Brazilians at the front of the band.
Carnival cortejo, Rio de Janeiro, 2026 · photo Felipe Bezerra
To support the delegation, or to ask anything first, write directly to the founder. You will get a reply from a person, not a fundraising department.
Companies can help too, with sponsorship or in kind. Flights are the largest single cost of the trip, Rio to Frankfurt and home from London, so an airline or travel partner would go straight into growing the band.
Tom Ashe, founder and artistic director, Favela Brass · tom@favelabrass.org