Talk about heavenly music.

Organizers of an upcoming John Michael Talbot concert planned for Sept. 4 at Holy Spirit Church in Fairfield will pair the Christian music icon and VOENA, an exceptionally talented Northern California-based youth choir.

The concert, featuring songs from Talbot’s new “Monk Rock” album, is a fund-raiser benefiting Faith in Action: Interfaith Caregivers of Solano County.

Talbot will be joined at the Fairfield venue by his brother Terry Talbot, co-founders of the 1970s country rock band Mason Proffit. He has planned the concert to feature a variety of music from his signature meditative music to upbeat Monk Rock material.

“It’s a great mix of fun electric stuff and more serious music,” Talbot said of the Mock Rock tour. “People need to get together and just have wholesome fun, and Monk Rock is in that spirit.”

The former country rock star whose Christian music spans over 25 years, currently lives as a hermit at the integrated monastery he founded in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.

Talbot will be joined by VOENA, Voices of Eve ‘n Angels, an internationally acclaimed multi-ethnic children’s choir.

“It is quite an honor to introduce an artist I was introduced to as a child,” said VOENA director Annabelle Marie, who directs the St. Dominic Parish choir in Benicia, which has performed Talbot’s music during church liturgies.

“This concert is an opportunity to pass on his music from generation to generation,” she said.

Founded in 1994, VOENA is comprised of children ages seven to 18 from Sonoma, Napa and Contra Costa counties which rehearses at St. Dominic Parish in Benicia.

Currently on its “Voices of Nations” tour, VOENA sang as United States ambassadors in 2005 during opening ceremonies at the World Expo in Aichi, Japan.

“Our message is universal in wanting to bridge communication gaps, the borders that divide us,” said Marie of the choir’s a cappella music, which has been performed for the late Pope John Paul II, former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.

Lewis Souza-Fuentes, a Catholic and project manager of Faith in Action, was among those instrumental in bringing the Talbot concert to Fairfield.

Souza-Fuentes started listening to Talbot in early 1980s, which inspired him to begin playing acoustic guitar. “His music speaks very much of the relationship God has with his people and his love of all of creation,” Souza-Fuentes said.

Proceeds from the concert will assist in supporting Faith in Action’s mission to provide in-home supportive services and transportation assistance to the homebound elderly and persons with chronic illnesses.

“Our concern is primarily to keep frail elders connected to the community at large,” said Robert Fuentes, executive director of Faith in Action.

Currently over 100 volunteers from 27 faith communities serve 300 seniors daily.

Gretchen Shilts is a member of a Faith in Action group at Holy Spirit, one of the first six churches to join the interfaith organization.

Shilts, a community activist interested in promoting parish nursing programs, said Faith in Action’s focus on providing service for elders fills a critical community need.

“These are people falling through the cracks, people who don’t have the resources to help care for themselves,” she said.

As a Faith in Action volunteer, Shilts said the ministry has enriched her life.

“I grow in my own faith serving the homebound and hopefully they learn from the volunteers. It’s a mutually giving experience,” she said.

Shilts sees the upcoming Talbot concert as a perfect match to support Faith in Action’s mission.

“Talbot is a Catholic musician with roots in Franciscan theology,” she said. “His music is about a simplicity of spirit, care of the earth and meeting people on their own terms.”

Tickets for the concert are $40 and can be ordered by calling (707) 438-1289, at www.tickets.com, or at the Faith in Action Vacaville office, located at 91 Town Square Place.

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