School: Coronado School of the Arts
Grade: Senior
Favorite subject: Music
Joseph's story: Joseph Lorge, 17, is looking forward to a summer road trip. But this isn't just any road trip. It's a working gig.
Joseph, an accomplished musician, will go on tour with his band, The Wrong Trousers, in July. The trio – consisting of himself and two alumni from Coronado School of the Arts – will venture to Seattle and back, playing at every venue they can along the way.
“I really like traveling,” Joseph said. “It's not a traditional vacation, but it's not really work, either.”
Joseph graduated June 12 from CoSA, a school on the Coronado High School campus that focuses on the arts. He studied mandolin and guitar, along with completing a rigorous academic schedule that included two Advanced Placement courses.
Joseph spends about 20 hours a week practicing music. He has been playing for two years with The Wrong Trousers, who fuse the harp, mandolin, guitar and bass into a folk sound.
“We play at a lot of different venues, including Lestat's Coffee House and also Balboa Park,” he said.
One of their videos, in which they perform a cover of “Video Killed the Radio Star” in Balboa Park, has amassed more than 300,000 views on YouTube. The band recorded its first CD last year, and it includes 14 tracks.
“It was a lot of fun,” Joseph said. “That's one of the experiences I've had that led me to want to go into an industry career path. I'm really interested in working with music technology. Maybe work at a recording studio as a producer or engineer.”
Joseph will attend UCLA next year and will major in music.
“Joseph is highly motivated and is passionate about learning all styles of music,” said Matt Heinecke, Instrumental Music Department chairman at CoSA. “He's an exceptional mandolin player, guitarist, and songwriter, which isn't at all common for someone his age. He has a brilliant future in music ahead of him.”
–Sharon A. Heilbrunn
Do you know of a student in the spotlight? Contact Assistant Metro Editor David Ogul at (619) 293-2517, or
david.ogul@uniontrib.com.
