They're talented. They're bright. They're beautiful. And yes, they're identical! Meet Aleksandra, Izabela, and Monika Okapiec, known professionally as ALIZMA. The 23-year-old triplets were born in Poland but are polishing their remarkable skills in America.
More than just three pretty faces, Aleksandra, Izabela and Monika all recently earned Masters Degrees in Violin Performance, but also specialize in voice and other string instruments, performing their own music along with classical and modern arrangements on stage and screen.
The sisters were introduced to the world of music by their mother Halina, a Kindergarten teacher who taught the girls songs before they could walk, leading to their first public performance at age three. By the time they were 6, the young prodigies were playing violin, and ten years later, at age 16, they were performing on Polish national television, featured on such shows as "Shansa na Sukces", "Na Kazdy Temat", "Piknik Country", “Super Express†and “Kurier Newsâ€, then took their act to Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Still, their biggest break was Red, White, and Blue.
At 15, the girls spent a year as exchange students in the United States, living with separate host families in Wilmington, DE, Rochester, NY, and Dallas, TX. They went home to Poland, but not for long. They were so enamored with America they convinced their parents to let them come back, spending their Senior Year at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware, honing their musical skills and polishing their english, earning scholarships to the Wilmington Music School, studying violin with Antonio Rincon and jazz improvisation with Diane Monroe. All three then received full, four-year scholarships for the Arts Management program at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia with a concentration in Violin Performance and minors in Voice and Piano. They also studied opera and joined the Harambee Gospel Choir to widen their musical horizons and gained dance and choreography experience on the Shenandoah University Dance Team. They worked fast, too, graduating a full semester ahead of schedule with degrees in Bachelors of Science in Arts Management/Music.
With extensive studies in theoretical knowledge and more than 18 years of classical training at some of the finest music schools in Poland and the United States, these young ladies are serious about their craft. Their true passion lies in commercial music where vocal performance is combined with violin improvisation. They recently recorded songs that display some of these skills, with samples on their website. All of the cuts were co-written by the triplets along with two accomplished producers, Jens and Toby Gad, responsible for numerous gold and platinum selling records.
Aleksandra, Izabela and Monika are also building their resume by performing in front of some impressive crowds in the U.S. and overseas. Recent gigs include concerts at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Disney Hall and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Academy Awards Governor's Ball, the opening of the Rose Bowl Parade with Leann Rhimes, and a show at Cleopatra's Barge inside Caeser's Palace in Las Vegas. They've also performed for U.S. Senator Joe Biden's Christmas Party, an event for the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York City, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Trade Conference in Richmond, Va, the Chamber of Commerce Conference in Delaware, the Bethlehem Music Festival in Pennsylvania, the Cebit Expo in Hanover, Germany, and various Polish-American Music Festivals. They recorded the theme music for the VH-1 Classic Rock & Roll Celebrity Poker Tournament, and performed as guest soloists with the Dover Symphony Orchestra in their Annual Dover Days Pops Concert and at the Bach Handel Festival in Winchester, Virginia and with the Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra and APU Chamber Orchestra.
They're also getting more and more face time on national television, including appearances on "Last Call with Carson Daly", the WGN Morning Show, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, "Soap Talk" with Lisa Rina and Ty Treadeway, the "Montel Williams" show and "Steve Harvey’s Big Timeâ€. They recently made their acting debut on "Hannah Montana" on the Disney Channel. Triple threat? Absolutely. And the best is yet to come.
CARPE DIEM!
