Doctor balances hospital leadership with years of festival volunteering

Markko Pärtelpoeg, head of the operating centre at the trauma centre of North Estonia Regional Hospital and an anaesthesiologist, has volunteered at the Pärdi Päevad festival for nearly a decade, ERR’s Vikerraadio reported.

Pärtelpoeg began volunteering at the festival almost 10 years ago. In the early years, his main task was checking paper tickets.

“When we went there the first few times, they were still paper tickets that you could tear the stubs off. Who wouldn’t like that job? Your eyes light up, people arrive and they have happy faces,” he recalled on the Vikerhommik programme.

Over the years, the volunteers’ duties have expanded. They now sell tickets at the venue, guide guests to their seats and help prepare the concert venue before and after events.

In recent years, Pärtelpoeg has arranged his work schedule around the Pärdi Päevad festival. During the first half of September, he tries to avoid evening shifts so he can reach the concert venue early enough.

“The workdays are short so that you can still arrive in the evening. If the concert starts at seven, you have to be there one or two hours earlier, depending on the venue,” he said.

Volunteers can generally attend the concert themselves after completing their duties. Pärtelpoeg said that seeing how the festival is organised adds another dimension to the concert experience. He also enjoys seeing performers before they go on stage.

“Immediately before rehearsals, they are more relaxed, and they joke around and talk to you,” he said.

Pärtelpoeg’s interest in the organisation of concerts began earlier. He recalled seeing behind the scenes of larger concerts in 2010, when Arvo Pärt’s “Adam’s Passion” was organised as part of the cultural capital programme in Tallinn and Istanbul.

“I was able to accompany the delegation. We were there a couple of days before rehearsals began and saw everything that was happening behind the scenes. That’s how I got involved. I felt that I wanted to do more and be more involved with those concerts,” he said.

Although the disappearance of paper tickets has changed one part of the volunteer work, Pärtelpoeg still enjoys greeting people. Over the years, he has come to recognise many familiar faces who return to the festival each year.

“That adds so much as well,” he said.

Volunteers also encounter unusual situations. Over the years, one concertgoer has repeatedly tried to enter without a ticket.

“There is one very striking woman who claims she is Pärt’s friend. She comes back every year. She knows me and comes over. She is not Pärt’s friend,” Pärtelpoeg said. “She comes through one door, and if she cannot get in there, she goes to the next door. She keeps trying doors until she gets in.”

Keeping a doctor’s hands practised

Alongside volunteering, Pärtelpoeg has several hobbies, including painting and making jewellery. He said that good time management helps him cope with his many activities.

“I think the more you do, the more you accomplish. We only have 24 hours in a day, but if you plan them skilfully, you can get everything done,” he said, adding that his medical career had taught him to organise his time because he had to work many night shifts when he was younger.

Although Pärtelpoeg heads the operating centre, he continues to work in the operating room because he does not want to lose his qualification as an anaesthesiologist.

“At least once a week, if not more, depending on the month. You still have to keep your hands practised professionally,” he said. “I love and enjoy this work.”