This month, the Community Foundation of Otsego County Nonprofit Spotlight features Friends of Music & Art (FoMA) Cooperstown, an all-volunteer organization that provides support to CCS programs and organizes community arts enrichment activities.
The mission of Friends of Music & Art (FoMA) Cooperstown is to encourage, support, and strengthen music and arts education within the Cooperstown Central School District (CCS). Formed in 1994, FoMA is all-volunteer organization that provides support to CCS programs and organizes community arts enrichment activities.
As part of a new initiative to bring multicultural musical experiences to the Cooperstown Elementary School, FoMA welcomed Gabriel Alegría and his Afro-Peruvian Sextet on Thursday, October 9, 2025. The performance was made possible by a generous $2,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Otsego County. The group performed world-class, Afro-Peruvian jazz music for nearly 400 students. They were entranced by the rhythms of the cajón, cajita, and quijada; instruments that most had never seen before. The students clapped along and danced in their chairs while listening to the masterful musicians. FoMA had hoped that the students would find the performance both engaging and entertaining, and it was clear from their body language that they did.
Cooperstown teachers and administrators appreciated the performance as a way to bring the arts alive for their students, and they are working with FoMA to provide more opportunities like this. The entire CFOC grant went toward paying the musicians for their performance. It should be noted that the Origins Community Foundation was instrumental in connecting FoMA with Gabriel Alegria, as Origins regularly brings diverse, professional musical acts to our area. FoMA hopes to work with the Origins Community Foundation in the future, piggybacking on their concerts to arrange more performances for area students.
Gabriel Alegria’s performance was the second musical enrichment event that FoMA coordinated in 2025 for the students in the Cooperstown Elementary School. In February, Zorkie Nelson and his West African drum ensemble performed to an auditorium filled with students. FoMA plans to bring more varied musical activities to the Cooperstown Elementary School, focusing on acts from different musical genres and cultures. Upcoming in April is a performance by the Cerus Quartet, a dynamic and award-winning classical saxophone ensemble, which will again take place at the Cooperstown Elementary School, in partnership with the Cooperstown Concert Series.
In addition to these enrichment activities, FoMA offers summer music scholarships, organizes an annual Cabaret Night featuring student and community performers, provides fiscal support for theatrical productions and arts awards, and advocates for arts funding in the school district. New members are always welcome.
Content provided by Friends of Music & Art (FoMA) Cooperstown.
If you’d like to learn more about FoMA, please visit their website: https://fomacooperstown.org
