I graduated in the spring of 2020, completing decades of education as a hopeful Master of Music into a void of cancelled gigs and shuttered music halls. Desperately seeking out a new creative outlet, I began posting my daily outfits on Instagram as motivation to wear something other than sweatpants and ratty t-shirts. From the safety of home, I experimented with my wardrobe and challenged myself to a new uniform of color and dopamine dressing. Once the vaccines rolled out and the outside world became a possibility, a photographer reached out and asked the impossible: would I ever be interested in modeling? What about styling local models? I took a risk and said yes to both. One photoshoot turned into two, and soon I was working with new models, photographers, makeup artists, and other creatives every month if not every week. I learned from each experience and soon began to dream of merging a career in fashion with my slowly reappearing career in music, hoping that eventually I could do it all. Years later, I’m working full time as a freelancer, performing throughout New England and signed to agencies as both a wardrobe stylist and a model. \

My careers correlate in a way I never would have realized if I hadn’t dared to try. As a classical musician, I’m interpreting music that’s already written and making it my own; it’s a collaboration between me and the composer. As a stylist, I’m working with clothing already created by designers and interpreting individual pieces into a cohesive outfit. I think of my skillset as translatable to collage artists or chefs; working with material that already exists to create something whole and give it new  life. 

I’ve suffered with performance anxiety for most of my career, and modeling has helped me overcome some of my stage fright. When I’m in front of the camera, I think of the work as a performance and my brain is activated similarly to being on stage. Much like musicianship, models have to practice, perfecting poses to understand different angles and find a dancelike flow that lends to usable photos. When I’m learning repertoire or practicing movement, I’m working in front of a mirror to understand how my body is moving. Once I’m on stage or in front of the camera, the efforts from my practice take over and I no longer need to think of each note or movement; I’m thinking about the overall picture and phrase, imagining where I want to go next.

Mary O’Keefe, November 2026

Photographer Credits: (1) Tracey Crosby (2) Baolong Song (3) Andrew Dunne