The role of concert dress in the performances of solo female classical instrumentalists.

This thesis examines the role of concert dress of solo female instrumentalists performing within the Western classical tradition. Previous studies of the effect of visual information in performance have largely focussed on the role of expressive body movement, or have treated concert dress as a confounding variable in the study of other visual factors. The effect of specific styles of dress in performance has not been previously researched. However, some have argued that there is a dominant beauty culture within classical performance, which may have a negative effect on perceptions of female performers' musical abilities. An analysis of promotional images of performers and images of soloists playing, suggests that this dominance of beauty culture exists only in explicitly promotional images of performers. Findings suggest that style of concert dress and expressive body movement style have a significant effect on observer perceptions of performance quality. The results suggest that practical, social and psychological factors influence performers' choice of concert dress and audience perceptions of performance due to dress. Models of the Spheres of Influence on Performers' Choice of Concert Dress and the Spheres of Influence of Audience Perceptions of Performance Due to Dress are proposed to explain the complex role of female soloists' concert dress in classical performance.