Darrell Omanson, founder of the South Dakota-based tour and travel company that bears his name, has served music educators, student performers and other travelers since 1999. Today, he’s excited to take his own adventures as he steps into a new season and passes the baton to our team at Bob Rogers Travel.
As Omanson Tour and Travel closes its doors, we want to honor the remarkable legacy Darrell has built.
A Lifetime of Music
Music and performance are woven throughout Darrell’s story, as they guided his education, career path and personal music journey. As a young man, he studied music education at Sioux Falls College, where he originally enrolled as a history and political science major. But then a band director convinced him that he would be happier as a music major, changing the course of his life in a profound way.
“In my sophomore year of college, we had a new band director show up,” Darrell shared. He was only 26 years old, but he’d been studying music history on a Fulbright Scholarship in England. We had a ball together. I switched to a music major, and I never really looked back.”
His college days were filled with music, from jazz band to brass choir to concert bands. One special ensemble was the “Golden Age Band” that performed music from the classic era of traveling concert bands on old high-pitched instruments. Darrell played a 1918 cornet and an upright peck horn with this unique group of musicians. He also formed a group called “Shades of Blue” that performed dinner music and played drums in a gospel group named “The Gospel Review.”
Following graduation in 1971, he took his first high school band position. Darrell was awarded a teaching assistantship with the music department at the University of South Dakota, earning a master’s degree in music education from the university in 1975.
“I always loved playing my trumpet and, like most trumpet players, you think you’re an entertainer. And that entertainer aspect is about half of the credentials you need if you’re going to be a high school band director,” he laughed.
His music education career spanned nearly three decades across three states, as Darrell took on positions of greater responsibility with each school system he served. From 1971 to 1999, Darrell worked with student musicians of all ages, organizing regional, national and international performance experiences for his students throughout his teaching career. Darrell led band tours to Europe and Mexico, to bowl games and the World’s Fair, to the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as dozens of regional festivals, clinics, concerts and competitions.
Small Enough to Care, Big Enough to Go Anywhere
His many years as a high school band director traveling with young performers opened Darrell’s mind to the world beyond the classroom. In 1999, he retired from the music education career he’d loved for close to thirty years and opened Omanson Tour and Travel, an idea that had been stirring throughout his many years as a band director.
“In 1978, I had a chance meeting at the Chicago Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic with the folks from the Seefeld International Jazz Festival and they asked if I could help organize participants from the state of Iowa,” he said. “That was my first international trip – we had just an absolutely incredible time.
“When I was a band director, I was always working with large groups, and I learned how to move them around. It’s a lot like moving an army! You’ve got the instruments, you’ve got the equipment, the uniforms, you’ve got to feed the performers and get them some sleep, and then you’ve got to keep them out of trouble. I realized that I could do that better than most of the people I was watching. And then in the late nineties, after I’d been teaching for a while, I wondered if there’s something else to do. I’d always had this travel thing in the back of my mind, and I thought, maybe it’s time to just try it.”
For the next 27 years, Darrell operated his namesake business, providing exceptional travel experiences for his fellow music educators, as well as other groups traveling both domestically and abroad. Omanson Tour and Travel has been a trusted name in the group travel industry for nearly as long as Darrell’s music education career, earning recognition from the National Tour Association (NTA) and the International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN).
The company’s slogan, “Small Enough to Care, Big Enough to Go Anywhere,” rang true for close to three decades of client experiences, as Darrell and his team worked to provide personalized, worry-free performance trips, mission trips, culinary trips and international experiences to thousands of travelers.
A New Chapter
As 2025 drew to a close, Darrell made the decision to close the business he loved and shift his focus to new possibilities and more time with Susan, his wife of 55 years, his children, Charity and Micah, and their families, including his three grandchildren. He’s still eager to travel, but in this new chapter, he’s excited to see the world with those he loves most.
“I’d always considered Bob Rogers Travel to be competition,” he explained. “And the only competition you take seriously are people who are good at what they do. Bob started out as a band director like me, and it takes the instincts of a band director to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that can destroy a trip. Bob Rogers Travel has the same values and passion for music, education and travel; this transition just made sense.”
Our team at BRT celebrates Darrell’s work as both a fellow music educator and tour operator, and we’re honored to continue serving the students and educators he’s supported for nearly three decades. We wish him all the best in this new season of life, one that we’re sure will continue to be filled with both music and travel!
