Terri Pontremoli, longtime head of the Tri-C JazzFest, is in her final days working from the college Downtown. She officially retired Nov. 3.

“There's a magic that happens in jazz that I literally believe does not happen in any other art form,” she said. “So, I'm a nut for it.”

Pontremoli was executive director from 2002-2004, and, after a stint with Detroit’s jazz fest, returned in 2011 to lead the Tri-C event. The classical-violinist-turned-administrator began in 1990, working on education programs for the fest.

“I was playing and booking all the artists, the orchestras that played for Broadway shows and shows like Gladys Knight and Tony Bennett,” she said. “When I got involved with this jazz thing, it was like a turning point in my life. It was my venture into arts administration and

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