Enclosed is a transcript of the NCMA history DVD.  Feel free to download the video, and/or request a copy of the DVD.

 

Doug Riley: Welcome.  We are Doug and Tina Riley, and together we founded the North County Music Academy & Fine Arts.  We would like to share with you this short presentation which is designed to give the history of the North County Music Academy & Fine Arts as well as its current and future ministry opportunities.

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The program is designed primarily for homeschool students and teaches the fundamentals of music in choir and band settings.  We emphasize musical excellence in order to bring glory to God, but not as a means unto itself. Our mission is to serve our communities by providing a music learning experience in a manner that is consistent with Christian doctrine.  Our vision is to provide a quality, affordable service to the community, through learning, rehearsing, performing and fellowshipping in a manner that strives for excellence to glorify God.

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Tina Riley: The North County Music Academy & Fine Arts (or NCHMP) began in the fall of 2001. I was still struggling with profound grief following the death of our second son, David. He was a very special little boy who had many physical disabilities and medical conditions, and yet was such a joy and delight to our family. As we all struggled to cope and to come to a new sense of normal for our family, the Lord brought about the fulfillment of a dream I had, and that was to teach music to young people. I wanted to teach in a way that honored the Lord, and impacted young lives for Him.  So that fall we started with about 35 students in two different choirs that met every other week. Our family was blessed to come together and minister and the students were able to grow and learn.

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Doug Riley: NCMA was primarily funded at that time, through private funds and small contributions from families. We slowly accumulated equipment and music, and in the fall of 2002 a beginning band was started, and the choirs grew to include a third choir for the youngest children.

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The music program grew to a point of meeting weekly and needing to use a different facility, so we moved to the Arlington Boys and Girls Club. We quickly outgrew this facility, as well. We then rented Arlington First Baptist for a few years, and then outgrew that facility. We have met on Thursdays at the Arlington Assembly of God Church now for two years. This lovely facility has been able to accommodate all of the classes we currently offer:

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The music program now has waiting lists for several classes in order to most effectively minister and teach. We have a total of about 200 students from 90 different families. Many of these families attend approximately 40 different area churches from many different denominations. Our families come all the way from Bellingham down to as far as Puyallup!  We are now a non-profit corporation, and have a board who prayerfully helps to guide us:

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Tina Riley: We also have many volunteers who help keep this program running smoothly. We have a parent helper for each of the older classes, a parent in the foyer, and young people who are committed to helping the teachers each week. We also have many young people who help with set up and clean up each week. This program requires a large, affordable facility, and a great deal of effort, time, supplies, equipment, and patience and love for one another to keep this program running smoothly. The families who participate are key to the students’ experience.

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Doug Riley: We have remained committed to keeping this an affordable program, and only ask for $90 per family for each semester. This covers as many students as the family may have, as many classes as they wish to participate in, and helps offset the cost of the facility, equipment, music and supplies. We have not raised our fees in the years we have been in existence, and the program is now able to sustain itself through the fees and through donations.

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Tina Riley: You know, I always wanted to have at least six children, and through this ministry I have been blessed to have more than 200 children to love, as we grow and learn through music!

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The North County Music Academy & Fine Arts has grown beyond anyone’s expectations, and has impacted many lives. The Lord has led and we have tried to follow. As we have done so, we have all been blessed in so many ways. It is exciting to see what He has done, and we look forward to watching Him at work in the future.

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