The Musicians Union of Los Angeles
Stephanie O'Keefe, President
323.993.3181, stephanie.okeefe@afm47.org
Stephanie O’Keefe has served as President of the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 since January 2021, when she became the first woman in the 100-plus year history of our Local to earn this title. Originally from Chicago, and educated at the University of Illinois, Ms. O’Keefe has over four decades of experience as a professional musician. She began her career in Las Vegas, where she played the French horn in every major showroom for headliners that included Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Dolly Parton, Bernadette Peters, Olivia Newton-John, Luciano Pavarotti, The Carpenters, and even a concert of Aaron Copland’s music, conducted by Mr. Copland, himself.
Since 1987, Ms. O’Keefe has made Los Angeles her home. She has performed and recorded with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Johnny Mathis, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga, Avenged Sevenfold, Snow Patrol, Barry Manilow, James Taylor, Leon Russell, Tony Bennett, Justin Timberlake, Blake Shelton, Glen Frey, and the video games “World of Warcraft” and “The Legend of Zelda.” Additionally, Ms. O’Keefe has recorded the scores for numerous commercials, films, and television shows, including the 50th anniversary Grammy Awards.
Ms. O’Keefe is a fierce advocate for musicians. In 2006, she started her own awareness campaign, Real Music Comes From Musicians℠. She has served on the AFM Local 47 Legislative Committee, numerous negotiating committees, and, in 2005, was instrumental in the creation of the first AFM contract for a previously non-union orchestra, which continues to perform under a Local 47 to this day. From 2011 until 2021, Ms. O’Keefe was the instructor of horn at Occidental College, where she also created and led OxyNewMusic, an ensemble that workshopped and performed over fifty premieres by student composers.Previously, Ms. O’Keefe was the instructor of horn at California State University, Los Angeles.
In 2019, in partnership with the Inglewood School District and Local 47, Ms. O’Keefe designed and led a highly successful mentoring project, which culminated in the student singers, instrumentalists, and composers recording their original compositions, side by side with Local 47 musicians.
In 2022, Ms. O’Keefe was elected as a Vice President to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and she currently serves as co-chair of the Local 47 Musicians and Employers’ Health & Welfare Fund, Trustee on the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund (AFM-EPF), and as a Board Member of the Entertainment Community Fund Western Council and the Verdugo Workforce Development Board.Ms. O'Keefe also serves as a Delegate to the AFM Convention.
Among Ms. O'Keefe’s accomplishments as President are having negotiated or renegotiated more than 50 collective bargaining agreements, instituting a policy whereby all report forms are examined and reconciled by contract administrators, resulting in thousands of dollars in unpaid and incorrectly paid wages for Local 47 musicians, and establishing a large gathering space in the building dedicated to Captain Greg Welch, the first time the Local has had a large room for rehearsals or meetings since relocating from our Hollywood headquarters in 2017.