Heredity or Environment? Along with sharing common genes, many identical twins share common interests and talents—like concert pianists Alvin (left) and Alan Chow. As students at the University of Maryland, they graduated with identical straight-A averages—and shared the stage as co-valedictorians. Both studied piano at Juilliard, and today they are both music professors with active performance schedules. In addition to performing solo, they frequently perform together in recital. However, the Chow twins were reared together, so it would be difficult to determine the relative importance of environmental and genetic influences on their talents and career paths.