Renting for the 2026-2027 school year? Tap your instrument and go straight to the order form. School-year rentals run 10 months, September to June.
School band and orchestra instrument rentals in Connecticut and New York
A family-owned shop staffed by working musicians, luthiers, and band technicians, serving Connecticut and New York school families and visiting performers for over 20 years. Tell us which you are:
For students & families
School-Year Rentals
Rent a band or string instrument for the 10-month school year. For families and schools across Connecticut and New York. We help you pick the right size.
- 10-month term with 2 months free on renewal
- Every instrument a school band or orchestra uses
- Free in-shop sizing and K-12 school delivery in fall
For performances, auditions & short stays in New York
Short-Term Rentals
Flying in and can’t bring your instrument? We rent concert-quality strings and band instruments by the day or by the week, delivered in Manhattan.
- Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center performers
- From a single day, quote-based pricing
- Manhattan pickup or delivery to your venue
In-house
luthiers
Repairs and bow rehairing done on site. Never outsourced.
Every level supported
From a first rental to concert-quality instruments.
Family-owned for over 20 years
Founded by a concert cellist, staffed by working musicians.
Teacher-recommended
Trusted by private and public school programs throughout CT and NYC.
What is your student playing?
Every instrument page covers the things parents actually need to know: what size to choose, what comes in the case, and the most common damage and how to avoid it.
Strings
Band
A string instrument for every stage
Three labels on violin and viola, four on cello, two on bass. Having a choice at all is unusual in instrument rental, and every one is set up in our shop by our own luthiers before it goes out. Tell us your budget and how long your student has been playing, and we will help you pick.
White Label
Chosen from a small group of workshops we have worked with for twenty years, then set up on our own bench so a student sounds good from the first lesson.
Our most widely rented instrument.
Black Label
Custom built to Kenneth Kuo’s specification. A better grade of wood and about a week of a maker’s work, where a stock instrument gets a day or two.
On cello, Red Label sits between the two.
Euro Label
European workshops, from wood aged for decades before anyone worked it. The most tone we rent for the school year.
Supply is limited, so ask early.
Four ways to rent a band instrument
Band works differently from strings. String labels describe how much tone the instrument has. Band lines describe where the instrument came from, and they are not ranked against each other. Two of them are our own house instrument, new or rebuilt. Two carry a recognized brand name. All three are set up and play-tested on our bench before they go out.
A Line
Brand new
A new instrument, yours to rent for the school year. Easiest to play, best tone, and nobody else has had it. Keep an A Line going for three years and the instrument is yours to keep.
B Line
Brand names
Instruments from names like Yamaha, Selmer, Bach, and Jupiter, maintained by our own technicians between players. Choose B if the name on the instrument matters to you or your band director.
C Line
Previously rented
The same house instrument as our A Line, returned and rebuilt by our technicians. A technician makes the adjustments a factory production line does not stop to make.
Each line answers a different question: new and yours to keep after three years, a recognized brand, or the lowest cost to start. More about our band instruments and lines.
Flying in to perform? We’ll have an instrument waiting.
Musicians travel to New York for performances and competitions and can’t bring their instrument on the plane. We supply concert-quality string and band instruments by the week, delivered to the venue or your hotel.
We’ve provided instruments for Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center performances and worked with touring companies for over ten years.
By the week
From a single day, quote-based pricing.
Manhattan pickup or delivery
Tell us your dates and we’ll confirm what’s possible.
Performance-grade
Cello, bass, saxophone, trombone & more, set up by our techs
Ask a Luthier
Parents ask, our team answers. Real questions from real families, answered by the people who set up your instrument. Browse all questions.
What size violin does my child need?
Violins run from 1/16 up to full size, and it is arm length that decides, never a chart of ages and heights. Children come in every shape, and the final call on size belongs to your child's teacher. The quick check: in playing position, your child's fingers should curl over the end of the scroll with a slight bend in the elbow. When in doubt go smaller, and better yet, have a teacher or a shop of working musicians size them in person. It takes two minutes.
How do I tune my child’s violin without wrecking it?
Use the fine tuners, the small screws at the tailpiece. They move the pitch a little at a time and are very hard to overdo. The strings are G, D, A, E from lowest to highest, and a clip-on tuner or a phone app tells you where you are. (The app our own staff reach for is ClearTune, but any decent tuner works.)
Will I be charged for normal wear and tear?
No, not for normal wear: strings wearing out, rosin used up, bow hair breaking strand by strand, a case zipper giving out. That is expected, and it is never charged to you. Damage is different: dents, cracks from drops, a broken bow, carved initials. We always tell you which side of the line we think something sits on before any chargeable work happens, and the insurance exists for the genuine accidents and the gray areas.
Can we swap to a bigger size as our child grows?
Yes, at no charge, as many times as growing requires, and it is one of the main reasons to rent a string instrument rather than buy one.
Have a question we haven’t answered?
Send it in. Selected questions are answered here on the site by the member of our team who knows that instrument best. If you need an answer today, call us at (203) 957-8300 and you will speak to a musician.
Why people keep coming back
Trusted by families, teachers, and performers across Connecticut and New York.
★★★★★
Parent
“Both of these cellos are easily the best-sounding instruments they’ve played to date. Having instruments of this quality has enriched his playing experience.”
Randy Young
Parent
★★★★★
Professional musician
“Ken brings a player’s knowledge to everything from choosing great instruments to careful setup. My students love playing his instruments. Bravo!”
Marc Schmied
MM Juilliard · Manhattan Chamber Orchestra
★★★★★
Teacher
“A student broke a string the day of his graduation performance. We brought the viola in, and they repaired it within an hour.”
Daniela Gongora
Violin/Viola teacher · Norwalk
“They feel like partners in helping our students make music”
It feels as if they are partners with us in helping our students make music. They supply excellent instruments, they listen and respond to our needs, and they provide a level of service and support we hadn’t imagined possible.
– Don S., Head of Music Department, Collegiate School (New York)
Two locations, one team you can reach
Visit our Norwalk shop or arrange New York pickup, real people, ready to help.
Norwalk, CT: Headquarters
547 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851
Sizing, fittings, repairs, pickup and returns.
New York, NY: By appointment
120 Riverside Boulevard, New York, NY 10069
Short-term & performance pickup, plus school delivery across Manhattan.
Serving families across Fairfield County and the tri-state area, including Norwalk, Westport, Darien, New Canaan, Fairfield, Greenwich, Stamford, Wilton, Ridgefield, Trumbull, Stratford, and New York City. See all towns we serve →
How it works
No hidden fees and no surprise price changes, either way.
School-year rental
- Pick your instrument and level (we’ll guide you).
- Fill out the rental form, which takes a few minutes.
- We call within 1 business day to confirm. No card is charged until you confirm.
- Pick up in Norwalk, or we deliver to school.
Short-term rental
- Tell us the instrument, dates, and location.
- We reply within 1–2 business days with a quote.
- You confirm and pay the invoice.
- Pick up in Manhattan or we deliver to your venue.
Ready when your student is.
Start a school-year rental, or request a short-term quote for a performance. Either way, a real person follows up to make sure it’s right.