History

Chamberre in the Rockies

In the summer of 1957, Dr. Eugene Hilligoss organized the first meeting of a group of classical chamber music enthusiasts, to gather together and play at the Rocky Ridge Music School near Estes Park. In the early days of Chamberre, the group congregated at Rocky Ridge in late afternoon Friday until Sunday afternoon. A tradition was soon established whereby members of Chamberre, as well as other performers, organized a Sunday afternoon concert to which the public was invited. This tradition has been maintained over the years.

Dr. Hilligoss continued organizing the annual Chamberre event until his untimely death in 1982. At that time Craig Billings, a cellist student of Dr. Hilligoss, organized a group of people initially with the idea of running Chamberre "one last time" in memory of Gene. Luckily for all of us the "last" Chamberre was such a success that Craig decided to continue organizing Chamberre on an annual basis. He continued in this role through 1997, at which time Michael Holmes took over as the principal organizer with invaluable help and support of other board members.