Shrewd Brass

Bourke Street Mall is where it began. Shrewd Brass formed at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1988, busking in the mall as students, and a three-month run at the Last Laugh comedy club followed. The Melbourne group now works in a few different ways. For schools, five players show students how brass instruments work and sound, across classical, rock and jazz, with lots of chances to join in. They've played more than 2,000 school shows in Australia and Singapore and have long worked with Musica Viva. Lounge is the roving, comic version, where the challenge is to name a tune they can't play, from Beethoven to Bacharach, and it has taken them to Hong Kong venues including Ocean Park and City Plaza. For a grand welcome or product launch, Fanfare puts four to eight horn players in formal dress, playing music written for the moment, with banners carrying your logo if you'd like.