About Us

The makeup of the Saginaires began to change with the advent of Drum Corps International as the group saw an increase in members from outside the Saginaw area. This increase influenced the decision in 1985 to change the corps' name to the Northern Aurora Drum & Bugle Corps. Northern Aurora became Michigan's first DCI member corps in 1992.

After the 1996 season, Northern Aurora withdrew from competition. This decision was made to stabilize the corps financially, with plans to bring them back to the field. Unfortunately, the parade corps' membership dwindled, and Northern Aurora became officially inactive.

In 1998, the Saginaires Youth Organization founded NorthCoast Academy. The unit competed as a color guard in the 1999 and 2000 seasons in both the Michigan Color Guard Circuit and Winter Guard International, winning MCGC in 2000. It was not to last, however, and the 2000 season was the last year that NorthCoast Academy would compete as a color guard.

In 2002, NorthCoast Academy was re-established as Michigan's newest percussion ensemble in the Independent Open class. While the season was not as successful as they had hoped, NCA turned many heads in their direction and gained tremendous momentum heading into the next season. The momentum continued as NCA blasted their way to a first-place finish in the Independent Open class at WGI's World Championships in 2003. This resulted in a move up to the Independent World class for the 2004 season. Though only two years old, NorthCoast Academy had already become more successful than several units who had been competing for years.

Following in the Saginaires' footsteps, NorthCoast Academy is currently Michigan's highest-ranked indoor percussion ensemble, and with their energetic and demanding shows, NCA continues to turn heads as they compete in the Independent World class in their race to the top.