Four talented singers from St. Matthias High School in Downey, the only Catholic high school invited to participate in the 17th-annual Cal State Fullerton Fall Choral Festival, performed with the Honor Choir at CSUF's Meng Concert Hall Performing Arts Center on Oct. 4.

Jessica Loaiza, Magdalen Mendoza, Xochil Perez and Viviana Trujillo joined the top four pupils from high school choirs throughout Southern California in the daylong rehearsal that culminated in an evening concert conducted by Robert Istad, director of choral studies at CSUF. Dr. Istad personally invited the young women from St. Matthias, an all-girls' school that has a tradition of excellence in the fine arts. Under the direction of Sandy Martinez, an alumna of St. Matthias' Victorian music program, the school boasts three choral groups as well as two handbell choirs.

The fall choral festival gives high school choral artists the opportunity to learn a variety of music, form a diverse choir different from their own school chorus groups and perform the newly learned pieces together.