Our Academy
Studio History
The Cingolani Academy of Music and Performing Arts began as a small business back in 1965 when Gerlinde Baumgarten came from Germany to Canada and started a small accordion school known as “Lindy’s School of Music”. As a single mother of two emigrating after the war, Lindy found herself in Canada where she opened a rooming house and taught the odd accordion lesson on the side to make extra money. As the demand for the instrument grew in the 60’s, she founded the music studio. Her daughter Ingrid became one of the teachers and helped build a strong, reputable teaching foundation that is still upheld to this day. In 1981 when Lindy retired and moved to New York to help run the American Accordionists Association, Ingrid and her husband Derni Cingolani (two-time Canadian Accordion Champion) took over and re-opened the business. Over the next 25 year period, the studio could be found not only in Barrie but also in Angus and Shanty Bay. It has quadrupled in size with the addition of more instruments and teachers from all over Ontario.
In 2006, we moved into the third generation. Their daughter Renee has inherited the business and with a name change has further developed the studio into an academy for performing arts. As a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music (opera/piano) and a career in professional theatre that began in 1994, she felt the next logical step was to expand and add all aspects of performance yet still keep the small town family atmosphere.
Together, the Cingolani / Baumgarten family has built the studio into what you see today.
