GUEST BLOG: “…the eye of the beholder” by Thomas R. Vozzella

THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER by Thomas R. Vozzella

 

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, first appeared in Molly Bawn (1878), by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. How often have we resorted to looking straight into the eyes of one we are beholding to, to close a deal? In terms of choral music, deals can be defined as – making eye contact to obtain a musical result, i.e., an intense crescendo, or a ppp and other extreme nuances. On the other hand, some conductors have been known to close their eyes to influence a result, making no eye contact with the ensemble.

 

Those of us that attended The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), overseas summer residency program, will remember voice class and private lessons with Alfred Hepworth. Mr. Hepworth, the famed British tenor, appeared in numerous operas, at the Proms, BBC Singers, etc., had a unique take on eye contact…none. During lessons, Mr. Hepworth had us sing facing the floor. We would stop singing to check to see if he were still listening to us and he would invade your space to tell you that you were not producing. Did Hepworth achieve the results he wanted, or was it a mere ploy to obtain discipline in the classroom?

 

In a new study by Julia Minson and Frances Chen, remotely, supports Hepworth’s theory of “less is more.” In the study they purport to disprove that consistent, purposeful eye contact will seal the deal. Throughout the study, subjects were monitored interacting with communicators looking directly into their eyes. According to Minson and Chen, our primal instinct is to reject intense eye contact, the opposite of what we once believed. What was thought to have been an intimate move is now seemingly a move of domination.

 

Is eye contact overrated, an indispensable tool, or an element used to obtain a result. As any successful salesperson would tell you: When closing a deal – use all your skills, training and creative acumen to close the deal. Choral nuances are achieved in the same manner…we do what we need to, in order to achieve the desired nuance, eye contact or not.