Steven Grove Scores One of Hollywood's Top Internships

Every summer Berklee students pursue some of the coolest jobs in the music and performing arts industries. In our series Summer Stints we take a quick look at them. 

Name: Steven Grove

Age: 36

Hometown: Altoona, Pennsylvania, and Raleigh, North Carolina

Job: Intern, then Studio Assistant, at Sparks and Shadows

Before coming to Berklee to study film scoring, Steven Grove had already made music for more than 20 independent films as well as ads, video games, and other media. But it was an internship he got during his last semester that brought him to the stage where some of Hollywood’s biggest films were scored.

Being on Fox’s Newman Scoring Stage, where Jaws, Predator, The Matrix, and Pirates of the Caribbean were recorded, was incredible, he says. “It was overwhelming to be so close to what I had once only imagined.”

In the spring, Grove had scored one of the best internships in town. Each year, the Television Academy Foundation provides 50 paid internships at top Hollywood companies and studios. After an extensive selection process, Grove won the music program spot, which was hosted by Sparks and Shadows, Bear McCreary’s music production house.

During his two-month gig, Grove supported the team by delivering assets to studios and engineers; archiving audio, physical, and digital scores; and assisting the music librarian on large recording session dates; as well as other tasks.

“Observing how the entire machine works and learning how the company operates day-to-day provided me with a fresh perspective on the business of film scoring,” Grove says, calling the experience “tremendously valuable.”

It was also fun. In addition to perks like visiting the stage where John Williams’ iconic Jaws score was recorded, Grove got to attend several professional development and networking events that the academy hosted. And he got to go to the Creative Emmys earlier this month.

But perhaps most valuably, he got something else: a job. At the end of the internship, Sparks and Shadows hired Grove as a studio assistant.