Darrin Davis to Lead Ozark Region International Tour
Musicians Abroad is excited to announce the Ozark Region as our newest ensemble for 2026. Led by Coordinator Darrin Davis, the tour will include high school-age student performers from Oklahoma, Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas.
The 2026 Ozark ensemble will hold their Pre-Tour Performance Camp June 5-7, in Broken Arrow, Okla. The European performance tour will take place June 8-21, 2026. Band, choir and orchestra students will travel to Prague, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Switzerland with an added optional excursion to Paris. The ensembles will perform several times on the tour. The group is being coordinated by Darrin Davis, Executive Director of Fine Arts for the Broken Arrow (OK) school district. He will also serve as the Band Conductor.
Darrin Davis – Coordinator, Band Conductor
Darrin Davis serves as the Executive Director of Fine Arts for the Broken Arrow (OK) school district and has enjoyed teaching band in the Broken Arrow Public Schools since 1993. Davis previously served as the conductor of the nationally acclaimed Broken Arrow HS Wind Ensemble and director of the Pride of Broken Arrow Marching Band. As Executive Director of Fine Arts, he leads a team of 100 Fine Arts teachers and over 6,000 secondary students who actively participate in the Fine Arts in the Broken Arrow Public Schools.
Ensembles under his baton are consistently recognized for their musicianship and interpretations. His bands performed at the 88th Annual Convention of the American Bandmasters Association (ABA), The Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Carnegie Hall, the Music for All National Concert Band Festival and on six different occasions at the Oklahoma Music Educators Convention as a featured Honor Band. Mr. Davis’ ensembles consistently earn highest honors at state and regional concert band festivals.
Davis is an elected member of the prestigious ABA. The Oklahoma Bandmasters Association (OBA) honored Davis as their “Band Director of the Year.” The National Band Association (NBA) has awarded Davis with “Citations of Excellence” for outstanding contributions to band and band music. Davis was recognized as the Broken Arrow “Citizen of the Year” and the Tulsa Signature Symphony “Signature Champion of Education.” In 2020, Mr. Davis was inducted into the Bands of America (BOA) Hall of Fame, recognizing individuals who have greatly impacted the nation’s band activity and music education. Davis is also enshrined in the OBA Hall of Fame and Broken Arrow High School Great Graduates Hall of Fame.
Mr. Davis is a national clinician and serves as an adjudicator for such organizations as Drum Corps International, BOA, the Fiesta Bowl National Band Championship and numerous state band associations. He maintains professional affiliations with the ABA, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, National Association for Music Education and the NBA. Davis serves Music for All as a frequent clinician and is on the Advisory Board for BOA. He also serves as a Juror of the Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Shield recognizing world-class excellence for high school, youth and international marching bands.
Mr. Davis earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree at Missouri Western State University and a Master of Music Education degree with wind conducting emphasis from the University of Tulsa. In addition, Davis has continued his wind conducting education by frequently participating in conducting symposiums and collegiums to study with many of the premier conductors in America.
His marching bands have marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade and received the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Shield. Broken Arrow is a 29-time Oklahoma State Marching Band Champion, a 17-time BOA Grand National Finalist, a 21-time BOA Regional Champion, and the 2021, 2015, 2011 and 2006 BOA Grand National Champion.
Additional Conductors:
Jeffrey Grogan – Orchestra Conductor
Jeffrey Grogan is an internationally acclaimed conductor and educator, recognized for his contributions to music education. He currently serves as the Director of Orchestral Activities at the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University and as the Artistic Director of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras.
Grogan’s distinguished career includes conducting in Bangkok, Singapore, and prestigious venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Sydney Opera House and Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik. He is a Master Educator for the Yamaha Corporation of America and serves on advisory committees for the Midwest Clinic and Music for All (MFA).
A visionary in music education, Grogan initiated TeachMusic, a coalition dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by music educators. This initiative works to support and recruit the next generation of music educators through partnerships with organizations including the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), MFA, the National Association for Music Education, the NAMM Foundation and many others.
Grogan has conducted alongside Gustavo Dudamel at Disney Hall for the LA Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestras of Los Angeles National Festival and collaborated with renowned composers and artists such as Omar Thomas, Amanda Harberg, Eric Whitacre, Lowell Liebermann, Richard Stolzman, Stefan Hoskuldsson, Julian Schwarz, the Boston Brass and the Canadian Brass. His recording credits include March of the Gypsy Fiddler on OMAC Records with Mark O’Connor, the Ahn Trio and the New Jersey Youth Symphony, featured on classical music radio throughout the country.
Previously, Grogan served 11 seasons as the Education and Community Engagement Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) and as Conductor and Artistic Director of the NJSO Youth Orchestras, InterSchool Orchestras of New York and the New Jersey Youth Symphony. He was the founding Artistic Director of two El Sistema-inspired programs in New Jersey: CHAMPS and the Paterson Music Project. He has taught at the University of Michigan, Ithaca College and Baylor University, where he was associate director of bands and marching band director.
Dr. Julie Yu – Choir Conductor
Dr. Julie Yu is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University and the Artistic Director of Canterbury Voices.
She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Oklahoma State University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas. Before joining OCU and Canterbury Voices, she taught at Norman North HS (OK), San José State University and Kansas State University.
Yu has given presentations and conducted her choirs for state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), National Association for Music Education, DoDEA Europe Honors Music Festival and the European Music Educators Association. She is a past president of the Southwestern Region of the ACDA and served as an International Conducting Exchange Fellow to Kenya.
Her favorite area of research and performance is working as a guest clinician/conductor for various honor choirs and professional organizations.
About Musicians Abroad:
A Musicians Abroad European Performance Tour is typically two weeks long and takes the group to several European countries. Musicians Abroad offers a few options of tours that have proven successful or can create a personalized tour for your state or region. Tours have scheduled departures during the summer months, usually from June to early July.
A Musicians Abroad tour provides time for sightseeing, local culture, shopping and cuisine. Planes, trains and coaches will all be utilized during the tour. Made up of the top music directors in your state or region, Musicians Abroad selects educators with proven success and a commitment to encouraging students to be their best.
Tour preparation begins about 19 months prior to the departure date. Music educators in each state or region are asked to nominate their finest students, based not only on their musical skills, but also their character and displayed leadership. Each nominated student is sent a personalized invitation to join Musicians Abroad and asked to attend one of a series of local meetings during the spring prior to the tour.
During the meeting, nominated students and their parent or guardian are given specifics about the tour and costs associated with the trip. Students then register and begin preparing for the tour. Regular communication is provided to students and parents. During the spring of the tour, the ensemble typically gathers for Musicians Abroad Day to meet one another, receive music, part assignments and participate in a first rehearsal.
Fast forward to the time for the tour when the group arrives for 3-4 days of Pre-Tour Camp, often on a college campus. During Pre-Tour Camp, ensembles rehearse and hone their performance skills. At the conclusion of camp, family and friends are invited to attend a Bon Voyage Concert. Shortly thereafter, the group travels to their departure airport for an overnight, overseas flight and the start of their once-in-a-lifetime International Music Experience!
Performers, faculty and staff will be housed in top-quality hotels throughout the tour. All participants must have a current passport and all faculty and staff members and parents, guardians or chaperones traveling with the group are required to pass a background check before acceptance into the program.
For more information about the Ozark tour or to nominate performers, visit our website.
Interested in being a faculty member for our Ozark trip or ready to organize your own state or regional Musicians Abroad Tour? Contact Scott McCormick.
