Mahopac High School’s auditorium was packed last week, as 27 of the high school’s student-musicians and crew members took to the stage for Illusion, the school’s annual rock concert. The beloved concert has been bringing the house down for the past four decades, and this year’s performance was no exception.
"Our musicians and crew do two practices a week for eight or ten weeks leading up to the performance," said Stas Pryzmylski, the concert’s architect since 2006. "Every year we get professional sound and lighting in. We get the same gear that they use at music festivals with 100,000 attendees. Very few students get the chance to use or perform with that sort of gear."
Just before the show, some performers and crew took a moment to reflect on Illusion and their own experience with the annual concert. Many of this year's performers and crew are seniors who will be moving on from Mahopac High School, but they believe the experience of participating in Illusion will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
"Illusion has given me a rare outlet to express myself and perform," said third-year singer and senior Ella Atkinson. "Not many kids get the chance to rock out on stage in front of a big crowd. I'm excited to find new opportunities to continue to sing after I graduate."
"I love to perform, and last year was the first time that I got a chance to play for so many people," said senior and second-year drummer and singer, Ricky Vega. "Some of the people who came to see the show last year recruited me into their band. We're going to play in front of a crowd of a thousand people in June."
"I've learned a lot from Mr. Pryzmylski about music and production, but also about working with people and managing a show," said senior Brooke Geller, who is a third-year veteran of Illusion, production assistant, and Pryzmylski's right hand. "We have so much creative freedom. I made the intro video and students got to pick the songs.”
"I take my academics seriously. I'm pretty set on biomedical engineering, but I might want to do something finance/business related," said fourth-year guitarist and senior, Rob Dusovic. "But I'm definitely going to keep playing guitar. When I go to college, I hope that I can find some people that want to play too."
For a crash course in Illusion’s long history, check out last year's Q&A with Pryzmylski.