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Keith Urban
06/16/2008 06:45 AM
Hello!!
06/13/2008 12:35 PM
I would like to...
04/21/2008 06:30 AM

NorthCoast Academy's history begins in 1965 with the founding of the Saginaires Drum & Bugle Corps, part of the Saginaires Youth Organization. The organization also contained the Saginaires Youth Band, and the Saginaires Eagles, a feeder corps. Starting as a parade corps, the Saginaires moved into competition in the early seventies, achieving rapid success and eventually becoming Michigan's highest-ranked drum corps, a title they still retain to this day.

With the advent of Drum Corps International, like many corps, the makeup of the Saginaires began to change from mostly local members, to many coming from outside the Saginaw area. This 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 was once again classified as a parade corps, and withdrew from competition. This decision was made to financially stablize the corps, with plans to bring them back to the field. Unfortunately, the parade corps' membership was less than expected, and Northern Aurora became officially inactive.

1998 saw the founding of NorthCoast Academy by the Saginaires Youth Organization. The unit competed as a color guard in the 1999 through 2001 seasons in both MCGC, and WGI, 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, NCA 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 had turned many heads in their direction and would pick up tremendous momentum by the next season. The very next year, NCA blasted their way to winning the gold in the Independent Open class at WGI's World Championships in 2003. This would bump them up to the Independent World class for the 2004 season. Though only two years old, the group had already become more successful than several units who had been competing for years.

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

NorthCoast Academy (NCA) is a nationally competing percussion ensemble, part of the Saginaires Youth Organization; a non-profit organization based in Saginaw, Michigan. NCA is dedicated to providing the best possible educational and performing experience through excellent staff, unique show designs and life-long friendships. An experience as a member of NCA is to acquire a new meaning of winning; that achievement is not always of the competitive mark, but rather what an individual gets out of an experience, and to apply that knowledge beyond music.