Some fast facts about radio icon Terri Hemmert, host of Classic Encounter

As legendary disc jockey Terri Hemmert returns as the host of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Classic Encounter series this season, she’s also celebrating her 50th anniversary at WXRT-FM, where she started as an overnight announcer and public affairs director in 1973.

At Classic Encounter, which returns Nov. 2, Hemmert and guests point out the connections between classical music and pop culture. The pre-concert events, held in Grainger Ballroom beginning at 6:15 p.m., include light refreshments and discussion. Tickets are $25 (in addition to the concert price). Along with the Nov. 2 event, co-hosted by CSO trumpet John Hagstrom, this season’s Classic Encounters are scheduled for Feb. 8 (with John Bruce Yeh, CSO assistant principal clarinet), May 2 (CSO bassoon Miles Maner) and June 6 (Max Raimi, CSO viola).

Though Hemmert stepped down from her afternoon-drive shift in 2019, she continues as the host of WXRT’s “Breakfast with the Beatles,” airing from 8 to 10 a.m. on Sundays and also does fill-in work at the station.

The following are some Terri tidbits and quintessential quotes: 

A variety show spiced her life: Everyone knows that Hemmert hearts the Beatles. But it was Ed Sullivan, via his legendary TV variety series, who made the introduction — and in a sense, sent her on her career. In a 2016 interview, she recalled seeing the Fab Four on “The Ed Sullivan Show”: “Then I saw a picture of a disc jockey interviewing Ringo, and thought, I could meet the Beatles if I became a disc jockey! So that’s how I got into radio.”

A broadcast pioneer: She was the first woman in Chicago radio history to command the morning-drive shift, which she did for more than a decade, starting in 1981.

Memories of Christmas past: “The greatest Christmas gift I ever got was my first transistor radio in 1964. Subsequently, I went to sleep every night, the transistor hidden under the covers, listening to Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Turtles and Aretha Franklin until I drifted off to sleep. More often than not, I’d wake up the next morning with the earplug still firmly in place, and the WLS morning news jarring me awake with news about a riot in Watts or some bloody business in a place called Vietnam.”

Hall of Fame member: In 2010, Terri Hemmert was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of broadcast luminaries such as Dick Biondi, Yvonne Daniels, Studs Terkel and Wolfman Jack. Based in Chicago at the Museum of Broadcasting, the Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing those who have contributed to the development of radio in U.S. history.

A lust for life: In a 2018 interview, Hemmert shared her feelings on the march of time: "It beats being dead. It’s great to be alive. I was so unhealthy as a child; I had rheumatic fever. They didn’t think I would make it to my 40s. I walk into my 70s unafraid.”