Georganne Sebastian
Georganne Sebastian coordinates the volunteers and helps maintain supplies at sharp 9 Gallery. She discovered Sharp 9 years ago when the Independent interviewed Dave Finucane - the rest is history. “It’s the best jazz venue in the South East because it’s non-profit and focuses totally on the artists! You’ll never see a bad show here! Dave is a musician’s musician! It’s a labor of love to volunteer here!”, she says without hesitation.
Retired in 2020 as a pediatric pharmacist, she is also a Durham County Master Gardener Volunteer https://durhammastergardeners.com/ maintaining a demonstration garden at Arete Float Spa in Carrboro. She also makes quilts for various charities at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Chapel Hill each Tuesday morning (by the way, donations of fabric/thread are always welcome and put to good use!). Facebook link here.
Married to volunteer Dennis Pfeiffer, they have one married son, Bob, an officer in the Navy, stationed in San Diego. They also adopted Puddy Tat, a fun-loving tuxedo kitty from Independent Animal Rescue.
Retired in 2020 as a pediatric pharmacist, she is also a Durham County Master Gardener Volunteer https://durhammastergardeners.com/ maintaining a demonstration garden at Arete Float Spa in Carrboro. She also makes quilts for various charities at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Chapel Hill each Tuesday morning (by the way, donations of fabric/thread are always welcome and put to good use!). Facebook link here.
Married to volunteer Dennis Pfeiffer, they have one married son, Bob, an officer in the Navy, stationed in San Diego. They also adopted Puddy Tat, a fun-loving tuxedo kitty from Independent Animal Rescue.
Sharon Derry
Sharon Derry
Culminating a 36-year academic career, Sharon became Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012, then served as The Thomas James Distinguished Professor of Experiential Learning at UNC-Chapel Hill until retiring in 2018. She now applies theories of learning to her own experience as a learner of improvisational jazz piano. A student of classical piano as a young person, Sharon resumed playing in recent years after a long hiatus but turning to jazz. She recently served as pianist for the New Horizons big band and for the Dixie Dukes, a New Orleans jazz ensemble. She currently very much enjoys participating in the Sharp Nine combo program. Sharon also performs monthly as a member of Fearrington Piano Plus, a small music salon. In addition to volunteering at Sharp Nine, she does volunteer work for Fearrington Cares. Sharon enjoys road biking, native gardening, and taking long walks with her two adored rescue hounds, Daisy and Poppy. She spends as much time as possible with family, including her mother who lives in the area, traveling regularly to California and Switzerland to visit two daughters and grandchildren.
Culminating a 36-year academic career, Sharon became Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012, then served as The Thomas James Distinguished Professor of Experiential Learning at UNC-Chapel Hill until retiring in 2018. She now applies theories of learning to her own experience as a learner of improvisational jazz piano. A student of classical piano as a young person, Sharon resumed playing in recent years after a long hiatus but turning to jazz. She recently served as pianist for the New Horizons big band and for the Dixie Dukes, a New Orleans jazz ensemble. She currently very much enjoys participating in the Sharp Nine combo program. Sharon also performs monthly as a member of Fearrington Piano Plus, a small music salon. In addition to volunteering at Sharp Nine, she does volunteer work for Fearrington Cares. Sharon enjoys road biking, native gardening, and taking long walks with her two adored rescue hounds, Daisy and Poppy. She spends as much time as possible with family, including her mother who lives in the area, traveling regularly to California and Switzerland to visit two daughters and grandchildren.
Diane Steinhaus
Diane Steinhaus has loved jazz since she was given a copy of Charlie Parker with Strings in high school. She recently retired after 30 years as Music Librarian at UNC Chapel Hill. Over that time she had the privilege of interacting with and hearing many of the artists connected to DJW and has enjoyed the NCJRO since they began! Diane sings with the Choral Society of Durham, conducts a small a cappella choir at her church, and kayaks and watches birds whenever she gets the chance.
David Lewis
David Lewis has had a variety of careers to include a multi-year apprenticeship building and repairing guitars, commercial fishing in Alaska, owning, operating and cooking for their seafood restaurant using Alaskan connections for fish, and most recently Operations Project Management in the Telecom industry. He currently works in Telecom as a business analyst, takes in guitar repair and maintenance work, spends the rest of his time with his family or playing Jazz guitar, and is in a few local bands that play around town. He has been a regular in the Sharp 9 Adult combos and hasn't missed a session since 2017!
Tracie Thomas
Tracie Thomas fell in love with jazz when exposed to it in high school jazz band, playing saxophone. She was mesmerized by John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and tried to hum along with his solo. Back in those days she was living in Fairfax, VA, and would go to Blues Alley in Georgetown with her classmates to hear some of the big names in jazz coming through town, like Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Stanley Turrentine, etc. She also saw Maynard Ferguson and Doc Severinsen as well as local military jazz bands.
Tracie studied music for a few years but eventually moved away from it and ended up in the corporate world working as a marketing executive. Thirty years later in 2018, she picked up a saxophone again and took lessons and then found the Sharp 9 Gallery, which reminds her of the old days of Blues Alley and she absolutely loves it. Tracie is currently playing saxophone in a few community bands and orchestras. She is currently serving as President on the Board for the Neuse River Big Band (founded in 2018). Recently, she took the plunge and started taking combo lessons at the Sharp 9, enjoying the growth and educational opportunity offered by this wonderful establishment. She looks forward to learning more about the jazz business and meeting more people in the jazz community!
Tracie is married to Fred Burke and aside from her passion for jazz music, she enjoys travel, is an organic gardener and enjoys walking/hiking, camping and sewing (if there is any time left!). She has a cat, two sheep and 9 chickens and lives in Fuquay Varina.”
Tracie studied music for a few years but eventually moved away from it and ended up in the corporate world working as a marketing executive. Thirty years later in 2018, she picked up a saxophone again and took lessons and then found the Sharp 9 Gallery, which reminds her of the old days of Blues Alley and she absolutely loves it. Tracie is currently playing saxophone in a few community bands and orchestras. She is currently serving as President on the Board for the Neuse River Big Band (founded in 2018). Recently, she took the plunge and started taking combo lessons at the Sharp 9, enjoying the growth and educational opportunity offered by this wonderful establishment. She looks forward to learning more about the jazz business and meeting more people in the jazz community!
Tracie is married to Fred Burke and aside from her passion for jazz music, she enjoys travel, is an organic gardener and enjoys walking/hiking, camping and sewing (if there is any time left!). She has a cat, two sheep and 9 chickens and lives in Fuquay Varina.”
Margaret Urban
Margaret Urban: "I am fortunate to have enjoyed a balanced life. My work history ran the gamut from driving an ice cream truck to waitressing to college student affairs administration...to handknitting design/teaching/yarn buyer/store management. In addition to Sharp 9 I currently volunteer at Caring House and usher at Duke performances. In my spare time I am an avid knitter, reader, walker and explorer of national parks. I play the piano, am a fan of the American Songbook, and feel lucky to have seen Tony Bennett perform four times."
Ray Easterlin
Ray retired in 2022 after working in higher education for 40 years helping students and alumni with their career planning and getting into professional school (health professions and law). He is from The Carolinas, both NC & SC (Charleston). He enjoys reading, volunteering, music, travelling and sports - tennis, baseball (Go Cubs!) & college basketball. He is a lifelong tennis player and plans to continue playing until he is 80 (and hopefully beyond!).
A note of gratitude from the Durham Jazz Workshop/Sharp 9 Gallery to the volunteers who contributed and are contributing thousands of hours; you made it possible to keep this place going.