A new donor-funded summer internship program with the LA Phil provides a backstage pass to new career opportunities
Discovering new career paths, uncovering fresh research project ideas, and dancing on stage at the Hollywood Bowl would be a lot to expect from any summer internship, let alone one that’s in its first year. But 10 Oxy students participating in the new LA Phil-Occidental College Internship Program came away with all that and much more.
Funded by an anonymous donor, the program offers participants the chance to explore careers across a range of areas, including marketing and social media, philanthropy, orchestra management, and production.
They spent 10 weeks over the summer learning about various facets of the LA Phil, which operates three of Los Angeles’ premier live venues: the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and The Ford. The internship program provides a stipend and covers participants’ living expenses.
Following a rigorous application and interview process, including a total of 235 applications for 10 internships, Hameetman Career Center Executive Director Jamila Chambers and her team selected the internship cohort representing majors ranging from economics and music to philosophy, psychology, sociology, and media arts and culture.
The program reflects Occidental’s effort to connect classroom learning with hands-on experience across L.A.’s creative industries. “Looking for an internship can be daunting, and having Oxy’s relationships help make them happen has made me very grateful. It eases you into the working world,” says Penelope Jia ’27, an economics major from Washington, D.C., and a brand/video intern at Walt Disney Concert Hall. “The internship program is one of the reasons I’m glad to be at Oxy.”
Jia's branding and marketing work broadened her thinking about her future. After helping with everything from updating the LA Phil website and an organizational brand refresh to capturing social media content and conducting behind-the-scenes interviews, she's now interested in exploring a marketing career in the nonprofit or corporate sectors.
“Studying economics has been helpful to frame a way of thinking that’s technical, and having data analytics skills is a good supplement to more creative marketing work,” she says. “I’ve also learned how to communicate better in a professional setting. It was my first time working with a lot of different teams and external partners. I learned the importance of always communicating where I am, to be proactive and talk about progress.”
As a production intern at the Hollywood Bowl, Kai Frazier ’28, a music major from San Jose, had a hands-on role in making concerts happen, from working backstage during a three-night event titled Music From the Films of Wes Anderson, which involved dozens of musical acts, celebrities, and orchestra members, to helping with production of the Hollywood Bowl’s elaborate 2026 opening-night tribute to Broadway.
“The Wes Anderson concert was the craziest programming I’ve ever seen,” he says. “There were so many moving parts. Devo went on for one song, a children’s choir the next, and then the Ukrainian Mosaic Orchestra. I tried to help wherever I could. I knew I had to keep calm under pressure.”
Embracing the challenging nature of the work, Frazier discovered that event production is something he would love to pursue after graduating. “For a music composition hopeful, I feel like the LA Phil is the best thing you can get,” he says. “And I appreciate their mission.”
In announcing the partnership this spring, Meghan Umber, president of the Hollywood Bowl and chief programming officer for the LA Phil, described the internship as an investment in future creative leaders, giving students hands-on experience across every aspect of a world-class performing arts organization.
Scott Arenstein ’02, the LA Phil’s senior director of brand, worked closely with Oxy student interns throughout the summer and says their efforts enabled the organization to execute projects it wouldn’t have had the bandwidth for otherwise. “I’ve been impressed with the level of competence and their skills—good writing skills, attention to detail, and good communication,” he says. “There’s also dedication and determination—it’s hard to teach that. They came in with a can-do attitude.”
Every week, leaders from various LA Phil departments offered interns an in-depth session focusing on how their respective departments operate. “On paper, this partnership makes sense—a great school and a great organization joining forces,” Arenstein says. “But if you take the mission and values of both organizations, which are very aligned, and the fact that we’re in the entertainment capital of L.A., it’s like a special sauce.”
For Zachary Lipsett ’27, an economics major from San Francisco, spending the summer as a program assistant at The Ford “was simply an amazing opportunity. Not only does the LA Phil look great on a resume but it’s such an established organization that has connections with people in the entertainment business and throughout the live music industry. It’s a great jumping-off point.”
Lipsett appreciates how his supervisors at The Ford have encouraged his creativity: “I have a lot of freedom to make projects for myself.” Lipsett asked to extend the internship throughout the fall semester for class credit, and The Ford and Occidental obliged.
The internship even sparked an interest in how AI is used in the performing arts and its ethical implications, which Lipsett hopes to explore further when applying for a Fulbright Research Award this fall.
During a quiet period at The Ford, Lipsett took the initiative to volunteer backstage at the Hollywood Bowl. In a fortuitous twist of fate during the Blue Note Jazz Festival, Afro-Cuban artist Cimafunk asked Lipsett to dance with him on stage. As a dancer and performer, he made the most of his moment in the spotlight, doing backflips, spins, and pirouettes, leaving the audience cheering for more.
“I wanted to impress the audience and my coworkers and really show face,” Lipsett says. “Now when I go back, the ushers are like, ‘Oh, you’re the dancer!’” And that wasn’t even in the job description.
Top photo: Zachary Lipsett ’27 spent his summer as a program assistant at The Ford—an internship that will extend throughout the fall semester for class credit.
