Julia Niebergall (1886-1968) wrote several rags and most were published by the Aufderheide publishing firm. It may seem unusual to have women composing ragtime, but there were actually quite a number of women who composed. Julia Lee Niebergall was a talented friend of composer May Aufderheide, whose father eventually published two of her works. Julia was born into a musical family as her Dad played the double bass, occasionally even with the Indianapolis Philharmonic, her sister took to the piano, and her brother was a percussionist. She was a truly independent woman who married young shortly after finishing school, but soon found out that marriage was not for her and divorced young as well, keeping her maiden name. After success with her Hoosier Rag, which was eventually published by Jerome Remick in Detroit, she wrote only two more piano rags, both published by J.H. Aufderheide. Julia also acted as an arranger for the firm for a period of time.
During the 1910s and 1920s Ms. Niebergall was a professional pianist focusing mostly on playing for movies at the Colonial Theatre right up until recorded soundtracks took over. She also occasionally played for ballet and gym classes when her services were requested. As an assertion of her independence, it was widely known that she was one of the first women in Indianapolis to own and drive her own vehicle (make and model unknown). In later years she taught some piano and music theory, and was able to support herself and her own home as a professional musician nearly up until her death at age 82.
