I'm a first chair viola (in the least conceited way), and one of the people in my section completely dissed my skill a few days ago. I gave the wrong que (once, I may add), and he taps me on the shoulder and says "you need to count. you know, like, counting? like one, two, three, four?" it just made me so angry! how do you deal with critical stand partners/people in your section? thank you!
Oh gosh, that really sucks. Cuing is something that section leaders should be cut some slack for, because you have the pressure of having to count. I know that I'm always grateful when I'm not the section leader because then I don't have to worry about counting (because I'm lazy. Of course this sucks when I either can't see the section leader, or the section leader is awful at cuing).Â
Um... Hm. Dealing with critical people. Really, the only thing I can recommend is to outshine them (which is hard esp in orchestra because you need to be part of a unit) or just like... really do your job well. As for the specific instance you experienced, I can't really say I have any advice. I bet the guy felt really awesome that he said that, and all I can say is to try not to let it affect you. If he thinks he's getting you down and he actually isn't, that should be satisfaction enough for you. There's nothing more aggravating than having your plans foiled.