Mesmerizing Violin Performance! | Lalo: Symphonie espagnole | Classical Music Reaction 

As an orchestral violist, I think my eyes are constantly going back and forth between the sheet music, the conductor, my section leader's bow, and my bow contact point. There's a lot to pay attention to. I occasionally glance toward the audience when I have the chance (in long rests), and I do like to see smiles on faces, but with most of the light being directed at the stage, it's hard to see beyond the first two or three rows. If I know a friend is in the audience, I may scan the audience before the concert starts or at intermission to see if I can find them, but that's only possible when the house lights are on. The one time I got to perform as a soloist with an orchestra, I didn't really pay much attention to the audience at all until after I was finished with the piece. Most of the time I was looking at my contact point, sometimes making eye contact with the conductor (as a soloist it's more like playing a duet with the conductor than following the conductor), and at one point I was making eye contact with the first clarinet because there was a passage that was mostly a duet between solo viola and first clarinet. I occasionally glanced into the audience when I had a long enough rest, but not enough to see much because I was mentally preparing the next entrance.

I think applause at the end of a movement to show appreciation for an exceptional performance is fitting, even if it isn't "proper"... RogerC 4/25/24

He is 18 actually