Oklahoma Musicians

Cherokee County

Musical history, people, ensembles, photographs, and source material from the Oklahoma Musicians Library.

The musical history of Cherokee County.

Cherokee County has a well-documented school-band tradition centered on Tahlequah. The 1956 Tahlequah High School yearbook identifies Don Webster as a new band instructor who guided the high-school band through a successful season. The same volume documents a senior drum major, a high-school band, and a 48-piece junior-high band that earned an excellent rating at a district music festival at Northeastern State College. (high)

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Read the full account, chronology, named ensembles and people, source links, and research notes. These library reports reflect their original research passes; related records below may add later evidence.

Explore the county collection

9 linked records. Connections follow county names and communities documented in the sources; they do not establish a birthplace, exact historical boundary, or continuous residence.

Photographs and visual sources.

Photograph taken for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Caption: "Attorney for school band commission"
[Photograph 2012.201.B0243.0068]Photograph taken for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Caption: "Attorney for school band commission"Oklahoma Historical Society / The Gateway to Oklahoma History · Original source
The reviewed Oklahoma band history identifies Tahlequah Cornet Band in Tahlequah and gives the evidence date as Active 1889.; A 1872 report says W. A. McCandless was giving lessons to the Tahlequah brass band; a later item documents a seasonal concert.
Tahlequah Cornet BandThe reviewed Oklahoma band history identifies Tahlequah Cornet Band in Tahlequah and gives the evidence date as Active 1889.; A 1872 report says W. A. McCandless was giving lessons to the Tahlequah brass band; a later item documents a seasonal concert.Community and Municipal Bands · Original source