The transition from classical violinist to director of a major jazz festival may not seem a likely one, but such is the life journey of Terri Pontremoli. Although her formal training immersed her in the music of Beethoven and Brahms, she grew up singing standards and listening to her father’s jazz guitar. A steady current underneath her devotion to classical music was a passion for Miles, Duke and the Great American Songbook.

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, she taught there for 15 years before venturing into arts administration. Seduced by the spontaneity and freedom of jazz, Pontremoli is, for lack of a better word, a jazz activist; fighting for jazz and its musicians to win the recognition and respect of its Western European counterparts. “Symphony and chamber music audiences should revel in the music of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus as well as that of Elgar and Mozart.” To this day, Pontremoli remains an active free-lance violinist in Cleveland. She is a member of the Opera Cleveland Orchestra and serves as musical contractor for Playhouse Square, a multi-theatre complex in downtown Cleveland.

During her tenure at Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, Pontremoli raised over $6 million for jazz in Northeast Ohio. Out of sheer passion for the music, she developed skills in proposal writing, corporate presentations, and the creation of educational programs, all of which ultimately led to the directorship of the festival.

Pontremoli was responsible for winning prestigious national grants for the Tri-C JazzFest, such as the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund in 1999 for a city-wide Duke Ellington centennial celebration and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation JazzNet award (from 2000-2005). She also received numerous awards for special jazz presentations and commissions. In addition to bringing world-class jazz to Cleveland audiences, the festival started several successful music initiatives, including a two-year Jazz Studies program and a Saturday preparatory music program.

“My own teaching and performing experience inspires me to create meaningful musical opportunities for kids. There is nothing more thrilling than seeing a group of wide-eyed youngsters interact with jazz musicians. The majority of artists are so willing to share their expertise; they are supportive of each other, and are happy to see outstanding young talent move up the ranks.”

Pontremoli joined the Detroit Jazz Fest in 2005 as managing director. In 2007, she was thrilled to serve as artistic and executive director for “one of the best jazz festivals in the world in a city with an incredibly rich jazz legacy.” She cites the urban landscape and the informed audience in Detroit as unique and exciting attributes. Her ambition for the festival is to develop it into a year-round organization, with a focus on partnerships and educational initiatives.