Rentals & Events
2023-2024
Rental Instruments
Students are responsible for supplying their own instruments or may choose to rent an instrument from Assistance League of Flintridge for a fee of $250 per year. There is a limited supply of instruments for rent. Rental fees are refundable if the appropriate instrument is not available.
- The $250 Instrument Rental Fee will be pre-paid at time of registration
- Pre-payment of Rental Fees does not guarantee an instrument for your student
- All instruments must be picked up on Rental Day by the family or a friend
- Families who cannot pick up their instruments on Rental Day should rent their instruments privately
- All students renting a string instrument must be present on Rental Day for sizing
- Percussion instruments are not available to rent
Instrument Rental Day
If you are renting an instrument from ALF, it needs to be picked up on Instrument Rental Day. All instruments will be distributed outdoors in the Lanterman Auditorium parking lot and there will be table stations for check-in. Park your car and walk up. Rental Day will be held rain or shine. Priority will be given to new students and families who registered early.
STRING students MUST attend Rental Day with their parents to be measured for their instruments. For all other instruments, the students are not required to attend with their parents but certainly are welcome. String measurements will take place inside the building through the backdoor, adjacent to the parking lot.
Rental agreements stating the parents’ responsibility for the care of the rented instrument will be attached to each instrument. No signature is required. Acceptance of the terms of the agreement is assumed, once the instrument is taken from the parking lot area.
Saturday, September 9, 2023 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Lanterman Auditorium, Parking Lot
You may arrive any time during these hours
Lanterman Auditorium
4491 Cornishon Avenue, La Cañada Flintridge
All students must take great care during the school year to protect their instruments from damage or loss. If a rented instrument develops a problem, please let the Music Instructor or the ALF Music Chairs know as early as possible, in order to discuss repair or replacement. Students who are having a problem with their instruments should still attend class each week. Students who do not rent their instrument from ALF may choose to rent privately from a music store.
Percussion students are required to have their own Percussion Kit, which includes a practice pad, bells, drum sticks and mallet sticks. ALF does not have these pieces available for rent but they are available to rent or purchase at local music stores or online. For further guidance about percussion instruments, please contact your instructor.
Instrument Return & Summer Rental
Students are expected to return their instruments immediately if they are no longer in the program. For all other students, instruments will be returned during the last day of class in May. In the spring, ALF will provide instructions by email and also posted on each class page, for returning instruments or signing up for Summer Rental. Families may also select to pay for Summer Rental in advance, by selecting this option during class registration. The cost is $50.
Student Resources
Not sure what instrument to choose? Students in 4th & 5th grade classes at LCE, PCR and PCY will have the opportunity on August 28 or 29 to view Music instructors demonstrating a variety of instruments at school. ALF has also created a virtual Instrument “Petting Zoo” where students can see other music professionals playing instruments on our YouTube Channel. Check it out! More resources in the Student Handbook.
Informational Parent Meeting
All parents should plan to attend the Informational Meeting to learn more about the Instrumental Music program and how it has changed from previous years. Topics include the class overviews, Student Handbook, parent communication, instrument rental, and much more. This meeting is a great opportunity to meet the Music instructors and get questions answered.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Assistance League of Flintridge – Chapter Meeting Room
Follow the driveway to the left, behind the Bargain Box
4607 Oakwood Avenue, La Cañada Flintridge
Missed the Parent Meeting? Don’t worry. See the Parent Info sheet below.
Questions? Contact us at instrumentalmusic@alflintridge.org or 818-790-2211
See the 2019 Petting Zoo
The Challenge of Running a Music Program in a Pandemic
Rental Day 2020
Drive-Up Tuning 2020-2021
Drive-up services have been used for many years for many things, but Assistance League of Flintridge’s Instrumental Music program has added a new twist to this experience: Drive-Up Tuning for string instruments. ALF made several modifications to its Music program the past two years due to Covid-19 restrictions, beginning with a pivot to a virtual format in 2020. This allowed ALF to continue this popular community program which has been in existence since 1985. Going virtual provided students with the unique opportunity for private and small group lessons, but it also created a challenge for tuning the string instruments.
Since the tuning process requires a specific skill set and students are not equipped to do it themselves, ALF devised Drive-Up Tuning sessions to meet this challenge. String Instructors, Sahak Karapetyan and Ripsi Yepremyan perfected the parking lot tuning process using the outside space at ALF. No one needed to leave their car; they just popped the trunk, the instrument was removed, carefully tuned, then returned to the trunk. Students and their family members quickly realized and appreciated the difference a well-tuned instrument makes ~ a much more enjoyable experience for everyone!
When the going gets tough, the tough switch gears. Instructors, Sahak Karapetyan and Ripsi Yepremyan seen here, are tuning string instruments in the parking lot of Assistance League of Flintridge. With the Instrumental Music students learning remotely, we wanted to give them the opportunity for a quick “tune up” between lessons.
