ALIZMA

ALIZMA is an acronym representing a musical group composed of three identical sisters named Aleksandra, Izabela and Monika Okapiec. We are all 23 years old and specialize in voice, violin and other string instruments.

We were born in Poland, an Eastern-European country where we lived for the first 16 years of our lives. During this time it was our mother Halina Okapiec, who first introduced us to the world of music and continues to inspire us to this day. Our mother, a kindergarten teacher, began teaching us songs even before we were able to walk, which led to our first public performance at age three. By the age of six, we had begun our continuing study of the violin.

At age 16, we began performing on national television in Poland, being featured on such shows as "Shansa na Sukces," "Na Kazdy Temat," "Piknik Country," “Super Express,” and “Kurier News.” Shortly thereafter, we began performing abroad in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Another wonderful opportunity we have had in our lives was the privilege of coming to the United States at the age of 15 for one year as exchange students. After that year, we went back to Poland, but were so enamored with the United States that we returned for our Senior Year of High School. While in the United States we continued to hone our musical skills, being awarded with music scholarships to the Wilmington Music School, where we studied violin with Antonio Rincon and jazz improvisation with Diane Monroe. We graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware in 2001 and decided to continue our education at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia where each one of us received a full, four-year scholarship in the Arts Management program with a concentration in Violin Performance and minors in Voice and Piano. In addition, we studied opera and were involved in Harambee Gospel Choir to widen our musical horizons. Not focusing exclusively on musical pursuits, we joined the Shenandoah University Dance Team to gain practical experience in dance and choreography.

Aside from our studying at the University to gain theoretical knowledge, we continued to develop our skills as professional artists. We have undergone over 15 years of classical training at some of the finest music schools in Poland and the United States, which we strongly believe is the base of all music. However, our true passion lies in commercial music combined with violin improvisation. Not wanting to delay our professional careers any more than necessary, we graduated from Shenandoah University with a Bachelors of Science in Arts Management/Music one semester ahead of schedule. We currently live in Los Angeles, where we are performing and working on our Masters Degrees in violin performance.

In The United States, we continue to build our musical resume by performing whenever possible. Among the more notable opportunities we have had were performances at US Senator Joe Biden's Christmas Party, the Polish Embassy in New York City, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Trade Conference in Richmond, Va, the Chamber of Commerce Conference in Delaware, the Bethleham Music Festival in Pennsylvania, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. We have also performed as guest soloists with Dover Symphony Orchestra in their Annual Dover Days Pops Concert and at the Bach Handel Festival in Winchester, Virginia as soloists with the accompaniment of the Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra.

Most recently, we have begun to perform on United States television, being invited to appear on "Soap Talk" with Lisa Rina & Ty Treadeway, the opening of the "Rose Parade 2006" with LeAnn Rimes , "Last Call" with Carson Daly, the "Montel Williams" Television Show, and also Steve Harvey’s “Big Time”, where we performed live on two separate occasions. All of the aforementioned performances included interviews by the show’s respective hosts as well.

CARPE DIEM!