Mike Testa, the man behind Boston’s best events, concerts and performances, is retiring after more than four decades of service to the city.

After growing up in New Jersey, Testa attended college in Boston, at Graham Junior College and Emerson College, where he studied radio and television production and also was captain of the wrestling team.

He got his start in event planning in 1979 while working for Mayor Kevin White.

He planned programming around the city until 1995 when he joined the Metropolitan District Commission, now the Department of Conservation and Recreation, to host events in parks around the state.

Fourteen years later, he returned to focusing on Boston as executive director of operations for the Downtown Crossing Association, which has since become the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (BID).

Throughout his career, Testa has worked to make Boston a fun, lively, and entertaining city for residents and tourists alike.

He has had a hand in nearly every major celebration in the city, from Patriots sendoffs to First Night.

“That’s what I’ve always prided myself on, making sure there was free entertainment available on the streets for everybody,” he said. “There’s not a park in this state I haven’t done an event at.”

Testa is continuing that work in his current role as pedestrian zone & marketplace program manager at Downtown Boston BID, the organization he has seen grow from three employees to 60. He plans daily live music throughout downtown, which includes bands and caroling groups around the holidays.

“It’s the place where Boston shops. When they come down and walk by, and there’s a band playing or a singer singing, it makes it more hospitable,” he said.

Testa said that he has always had a soft spot for live music. Looking back on his career, one of his favorite memories was starting the oldies concert series in 1987, which ran every Saturday night for 25 years.

“I’m really into live music. If you’re a tourist coming to Boston, and you turn a corner and a band is playing, that’s amazing. That’s like Disney World,” he said.

Over the decades, he has worked with numerous up-and-coming bands that later achieved great success. Some of the most memorable, he said, are New Edition and Nynuk, which became New Kids on the Block.

“I’ve seen a lot of good entertainment come out of my programs over the years,” he said. “A lot of these kids go on to big things.”

Testa also added that he has seen the composition of Boston’s live music scene change over the years. When he first started his career, the city had a lot of high-quality bands. Now, many of those groups have been replaced by DJs.

“The music programs in Boston got cut during Proposition 2 ½, and people just weren’t learning how to play instruments. We ended up with a lot of DJs, which is what we have now,” he said.

Interestingly enough, Testa studied to be a radio DJ at Emerson, though he never took to life in a studio. He said he prefers speaking in front of a live audience.

“I studied to be a DJ and a television weatherman, believe it or not, but going into a little room and talking to myself, I could never think of what to say. In front of a live crowd and a microphone, that’s my forte,” he said.

In retirement, which began for Testa on December 28, Testa will continue to serve as a master of ceremonies around the city. He has hosted countless events ever since his friend and colleague, the late Rosemarie Sansone, asked him to lead a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Expect to see Testa leading this year’s First Night celebration from 11am to 6pm.