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Meet New IBOD Member Vickie Maybury
When Vickie Maybury arrived in Larry Tripplet’s Sonora High School choir room, the director remembers, “She was a bubbling, 4’11” ball of energy!” Larry’s observation was made in a video Skyline Chorus created for Vickie’s 35th anniversary as director (Master Director 700 since 2011) of the powerhouse chorus, which grew from 2530 members when she joined to its current status of 135-140 members on the risers.
Vickie joined Sweet Adelines with her high school quartet, Papa’s Girls. At 16, she was the eldest in her quartet, which joined Cities of Harmony Chorus (now Harborlites Chorus).
“We had a curfew, and I was the driver, so the chorus said, ‘We get it. You have to leave by 9 every night.’ And we did,” she recalled.
When the quartet moved away for college, they became charter members of River Oaks Chorus. Vickie later moved to Denver, Colorado, where two SA legends, Joni Bescos and Mavis Burtness, helped her find Skyline Chorus. She became Skyline’s director in 1984 when she was pregnant with her daughter, Becky, who now sings in the chorus and in Last Call quartet.
“To the credit of the old guard veterans in the chorus, they recognized the young talent and wanted to give them wings,” said 1984 Skyline Chorus President Sharon Nantell. “They had seen Skyline in its glory, and they were determined to bring Skyline back. The old guard knew Vickie was our future.”
Besides directing Skyline, Vickie has been part of regional champion quartets Brillante and Radiance (where she sang tenor and baritone, respectively), serves as Judge Specialist in the Expression Category, coaches quartets and choruses, and teaches classes around the world. This year, she is co-chair of the Sweet Adelines International Education Symposium with 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Cammi MacKinlay.
She said watching women grow into confidence is what she loves most about being a Sweet Adeline.
“I’m a very positive person, and I’m all about empowering women,” she said. “One woman joined my chorus at a time in her life when she was struggling in so many areas. She got involved in a quartet, and I worked with her and watched her sing on the regional stage. It was just monumental. To watch people do things that they never thought they could do, to see them conquer and grow and change, that's what I love.”
In the 45th year of her Sweet Adelines career, Vickie has been elected to the International Board of Directors (IBOD) for a threeyear term. She hopes to bring her “historical perspective” and great energy, vitality, and creativity to her new role. “I have seen the organization go through changes since I joined, and we have to embrace change as society changes as well,” she said. “I represent a lot of people across the world. I have the opportunity to be at the table with some incredibly intelligent, skilled women and work together collaboratively to create this amazing organization and continue to see us grow and change and embrace music and harmony in the world.”
