Fred Hoeptner discovered ragtime in 1955 when he heard “Grace and Beauty” during intermission at a trad jazz performance. It struck like a bolt of lightning. Following a stint in the Navy, he joined a local trad jazz society. Not being a classically trained pianist but having had some popular piano lessons, he soon was asked to perform with groups of amateur enthusiasts which eventually led to a series of steady gigs. He also tried composing, privately publishing his rag “Sedalia” in 1960 which was recorded on a piano roll.

The demands of work, graduate study, and an obsession with backpacking, mountaineering, and conservation caused him to abandon active participation in music for many years which he resumed in 1990 when he attended the Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia. In 2000 he won the ragtime composition contest with “Dalliance, A Ragtime Frolic.” Since retiring in 1996 he has spent many hours researching ragtime.