A Gift From the Gifted : Hope University’s holiday show is no mere pageant. At the arts college in Anaheim, the developmentally disabled unwrap talent.

At one end of a dim, slightly threadbare gymnasium, in front of only a few dozen people, one of the most extraordinary Christmas concerts of this or any season was performed last week.

There were traditional carols, seasonal playlets, holiday-themed dancing, even a bell choir. And there was long applause, cheering and several standing ovations worthy of an inspired performance.

Doubly inspired, because every performer that Tuesday afternoon, all 32 of them, ages 18 to 50, were developmentally disabled, afflicted with various characteristics of Down’s syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy or other conditions that prevent them from performing many simple, daily tasks.

But not from performing in front of an audience.

These artists were the student body of Hope University, the nation’s only private fine arts college for the gifted mentally retarded. Through the school’s curriculum of artistic development, each student is given the opportunity to discover and use an innate talent, whether musical or visually artistic, and develop it. The arts, said Hope University’s director George Gilliam, are a catalyst to greater self-knowledge and self-confidence.

The school’s yearly Christmas Festival, performed in the gym before an appreciative audience of parents, friends and relatives, is the culmination of many weeks of preparation, rehearsal, planning and hard work.

Cathy Acton knows.

Acton, 33, afflicted with PKU, a protein deficiency that causes mental retardation, speaks slowly and a bit haltingly but can--and did--sing “Silent Night” in its original German.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I sure do look forward to the Christmas Festival. What it means is it gives us all a chance to go out and entertain and give a little piece of ourselves.”

It wasn’t always so for Acton. Before coming to Hope University nine years ago, she said she worked at a repetitive workshop job for Goodwill Industries in Santa Ana and only sang at home, by herself.

“I hated working in a workshop,” she said. “Now I can do what I love, which is the music and the whole fine arts thing. It’s something I feel really good about, doing what I love. I wouldn’t trade places with the average person in a workshop for anything now.”

Acton is proud that she has, for the past five years, been singing with Hope University’s musical ensemble, the nationally famous Hi Hopes. A 12-person instrumental and vocal group, the Hi Hopes are made up of several of the school’s most gifted students, true savants whose musical talent is in almost inverse proportion to their disabilities.

There are five true savants in the Hi Hopes group (the word savant is French for “genius” and refers to anyone with low intelligence or mental abilities who exhibits extraordinary talents). However, said director Gilliam, there are a handful of other organized instrumental and vocal ensembles at the school that also regularly perform at area convalescent hospitals and at public functions. And, he said, that is when many formerly introspective, shy students blossom.

“Today,” Gilliam said, “it’s not just the Hi Hopes going out and performing. We’re bringing up other groups to a higher level so they can get out and interact and show the community what people with disabilities can do. We always say that anybody can learn. I want the school to be a reflection of that.

“The most important thing, though, is that everybody gets a chance. The performing is what brings out the changes in them. That’s when the real transformation starts to take place. They may have only one line or one word in a song, but that verbal outburst gives them something to look forward to.”

Most of the students come to Hope University with some specific talent that has previously gone unnoticed, Gilliam said.

“Most of the time they don’t have anywhere else to go” to display their talent, he said. “They may play or sing at home, but they’re sad that they don’t have anywhere else to do it. They’re referred to us, and we go through the process of watching them. We’re looking for something we can develop. And once we find that, maybe we can teach them something else.”

The school has a motto: “To train the talent is to diminish the disability.” It is no more evident than at Christmastime, with the Festival, and during summers, when the student body rehearses and performs a fully staged musical. Last year, Gilliam said, they staged “My Fair Lady.”

“They make backdrops and do their own scenic design,” Gilliam said. “We keep everybody working on specific goals, showing them how to work through a plan and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Everybody gets a chance to learn and solve problems. And then they sing and play music. They pulled it off without a hitch.”

Mutual support among the students is constant. Throughout the Christmas performance, at the end of each solo or group number, there were many high fives, many hugs, long clapping and cheering.

“We have good friendship with each other,” said Trieana Moon, 20, a singer and the newest member of the Hi Hopes. “We get along with each other and laugh, and it brings us so much joy. And we help each other musically. It’s a big part of my life. I really had a good time performing for everyone.”

For many formerly withdrawn students, artistic performance has become a window on the world, and a source of new confidence.

“It’s the perfect outlet for them,” Gilliam said. “It gives them a vehicle to step out of themselves. People are always amazed at their ability.”

And they know how to take a bow. At the Christmas Festival, performer after performer played an instrument or sang with conviction and beauty and verve and, beaming, acknowledged the applause with a decidedly professional mien.

“They’re happiest when they’re performing,” Gilliam said. “You can see it on their faces. They’re very honest about their feelings, and they’re very dedicated. I have to stop them or they’d practice 24 hours a day. They get lost in it and find freedom there.”