Hanneleen Pihlak

IRC at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

I have always loved to read and I became a big fan of theater ever since seeing a "Three Musketeers" performance at the age of twelve so when it was time to think about university I just followed my interests and went to study theatre research and literature. I remember people asking "But what are you going to DO with that education?" and me thinking "Come on! What a pragmatic way of looking at it!"

WHAT IS YOUR PATH TO THE CURRENT POSITION?

When I graduated from the university it came out that the people were right! What was I going to DO with that education? At first it seemed nothing much...but then I got a phone call from an acquaintance working at the music academy saying that there is a vacancy at the international department. I applied and here I am, 10 years later! Funny thing is that the students who were then just beginning their studies are now the heads of jazz unions or international soloists and I am still here in the same office (at least I changed my desk!) but at least with a lot of experience ranging from juggling different projects and becoming more fluent in bureaucratish to expanding my world continuously both in the sense of traveling and by meeting people, experiencing different cultures and being surrounded by creativity.

WHAT IS YOUR PASSION IN YOUR JOB?

These are the times when I see that something that has for a long time been just papers and budgets and deliverables suddenly becomes a reality with actual students participating in actual projects, studying in actual programmes and enjoying and benefiting from it! This gives back a huge amount of energy. It's easy to forget it but in the end, all that paperwork and those endless emails change the lives of people! And as one of my favourite quotes goes: "If you move just one grain of sand in the Sahara - you have changed the Sahara."