What other small Texas town can host a Van Cliburn Piano Competition silver medalist, then offer a free community concert with country music that same evening?

This town is blessed with talents and the donors and fans who support them. Fredericksburg Music Club opened its 88th season of bringing top-notch musical artists and acts to town. Last Sunday, it hosted Clayton Stephenson, one of the best concert pianists in the world.

Fredericksburg Music Club originated in 1937 as a small club in a private home and has now emerged into a music organization with an international reputation. Top artists frequent the stage at the Fredericksburg United Methodist Church venue and listeners get their minds and ears entertained with amazing music.

Amazingly, there is no charge for these concerts as all are funded through grants, private and corporate donations, through mail or giving at the door. Donations to the nonprofit music club are tax deductible.

The club, led by President Mark Eckhardt and an active board, owns the Steinway grand piano that is housed at Fredericksburg UMC, and they bring in artists that “restoreth the soul,” as the Psalmist wrote.

And what an amazing concert. That one of the world’s top classical pianists came to Fredericksburg is just one part of what makes this tiny ’burg so inviting. The audience sat in packed pews and soaked in his amazing interpretations of masterworks.

Music provides such a release and soul-filling experience. Whether it’s a classical concert, The Wagon Aces playing classic country, a church choir, or rock music, there is something primitive that stirs souls and contributes to our well-being.

Another organization — the Pedernales Creative Arts Alliance — also put on a show on Sunday at Marktplatz, and again, it was free. The PCAA hosts its summer Musical Evenings as a thank you to the community for volunteering at Oktoberfest, the three-day polka party that is fast approaching on the calendar. PCAA also has doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in arts scholarships to students who will go on to share their creative endeavors and talents with the world.

The PCAA also hosts a variety of music, from the high school jazz band to country and rock and blues.

And this area has more than its share of music venues at local establishments filled with local musicians who contribute to the good times of both locals and visitors.

That doesn’t happen in every town, and it’s another area Fredericksburg has built up into something special.

See more or contribute to the Fredericksburg Music Club or the PCAA at: FredericksburgMusicClub.com oktoberfestinfbg.com/about-pcaa See local listings in this paper each week in our Stages section on pages C12 and C13.