Reporter

Three Area Bands Compete at Regional Contest. Fifty-eight bands from 16 states competed in the two-day Bands of America Super Regional Championship contest Oct. 19 and 20, and three Tulsa-area high schools placed in the top ten:

First Place: Owasso High School "Pride of Owasso"

Fourth Place: Union High School "Union Renegade Regiment"

Seventh Place: Jenks High School "Jenks Trojan Pride"

Most bands began practicing for marching season well before the start of school in July, said Jenks Band Booster Publicity Director Robyn Brown. More than 300 hours of practice were completed in preparation for this event, Brown said.

Cherokee Heritage Center Unveils Name of Outdoor Living Exhibit. The Cherokee Heritage Center will, on Oct. 25, announce the name of a new $1.2 million outdoor living exhibit set to open to the public in May 2013. Following the name unveiling, exclusive tours of the village, which is currently under construction, will be provided.

After more than 40 years, the new exhibit will replace the Tsalagi Ancient Village, which opened in 1967 and was originally designed as an interpretive area showcasing everyday Cherokee life as it was prior to European contact.

The new village will provide visitors the chance to experience Cherokee life in the early 18th century and will feature 20 wattle and daub structures, 14 interpretive stations, and a detailed historic landscape set on four acres of land adjacent to the Cherokee Heritage Center.

The unveiling will take place Oct. 25 from 10:30-11am at the Cherokee Heritage Center, 21192 S. Keeler Drive, Park Hill.

OK Mozart Announces New Artistic Director. The OK Mozart International Festival is announcing a new artistic director, Constantine Kitsopoulos, for the OKM Festival. Kitsopoulos has made a name for himself as a conductor whose musical experiences comfortably span the worlds of opera and symphony, where he conducts in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Royal Albert Hall, and musical theater, where he can be found leading orchestras on Broadway.

"Constantine conducted three concerts with our Amici New York Orchestra over the past two years of the Festival," said OK Mozart Executive Director Shane Jewell. "Immediately we knew there was a connection and mutual respect with our musicians. Constantine presented his ideas for the Festival's future to the OKM Board of Directors where it was clear that he is someone who can help breathe new life into this very special event in Oklahoma."

The OK Mozart International Festival takes place every June in Bartlesville, and is made possible through the support of the Oklahoma Arts Council as well as many other corporate, individual, and foundation patrons throughout the United States.