Beethoven’s Killer B’s

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Jeff Yang, a classically-trained crossover musician and artistic director of In the Realm of Senses, discusses his production of Beethoven and the Killer B’s, which due to popular demand is having several encore performances at Chicago’s Epiphany Center for the Arts. Jeff, joined by board member Cassandra Rose, shares the difficulty of articulating the nature of this extraordinary multi-media project, which is part concert, part tribute to John Belushi, part spoken-word biography, and part art installation featuring projections and scent sculptures. Revelations include the challenge of finding the right tonal balance; the desire to find a better description than “Smell-O-Rama!”; the art of the perfumer; the journey towards executing one man’s sensory vision; and the difficulty of talking about integrative art that’s never been done before. (Length 23:44) (Pictured, l to r: Austin Tichenor, Cheryl Wilson, Molly Callinan, and Kim Czarnopys as the title roles in Beethoven and the Killer B’s, produced by In the Realm of Senses, 2023. Photos by Marc Perlish Photography.)

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