Music Store Instrument Rental
Students are strongly encouraged to rent an instrument from a “luthier” (bowed-string specialist). Most stores allow students to exchange their current instrument for a larger size as part of the rental agreement. In addition, some stores will even apply some portion of the rental fee towards the purchase of a new instrument! Many stores offer different insurance policies for damages (often called Liability and Damage Waiver-LDW).
Instrument Purchase
Online purchase of an instrument is incredibly tricky as some instruments sold online are misleading regarding to the quality and price of the instrument. Students may end up with an instrument that makes it harder to play, stay in tune, or develop an adequate quality of sound regardless of the student’s or even a professional musician’s skill level. Parents planning to purchase an instrument online should purchase through a vendor that allows for the return and full refund of the instrument if the instrument is assessed to have problems or the quality will make it difficult for the student to use.
School Instruments
There are a limited number of violin and viola instruments available from the school for students to rent. Priority of the school violin and viola instruments are given first to beginning 6th Grade students, followed by 7th Grade Concert Orchestra students, and then 8th Grade Concert Orchestra students. Ideally, students will be notified by the end of the first week of school if a school instrument is available to rent. A yearly $50 usage fee is required for student rental of a school instrument.
For Parents of beginning 6th Grade, a link will be emailed to parents who wish to request renting a school instrument. Mr. Liu will then email parents letting them know if an instrument is avaliable.