The Camden Central School District is proud to announce that the Camden High School Band has been named a recipient of a SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Awards) People’s Choice Award for 2025. The award was presented at the annual SAMMY Awards show held on Friday, March 7th at the Palace Theatre in Syracuse.
Held in the style of the Grammy Awards, the SAMMY awards are a celebration of local music in the Syracuse area first held back in 1993.
The CHS Band took home honors for “Best Academic or Musical Organization” as decided by a vote of the general public. Online voting took place over several rounds on the SAMMYs website, which meant consistent support was needed to advance. When the final round arrived, it was Oneida County-based ensembles that reigned supreme. Camden was paired against the neighboring Rome Free Academy Marching Band in a spirited final vote, and prevailed in the contest-ending totals to take home the SAMMY.
The SAMMY is the latest accolade in an award-winning tradition for the band. Just last year, the band attended the Music in the Parks festival in Agawam, Massachusetts, and received top honors and the coveted rating of “Superior” from festival adjudicators. More recently, multi-talented instrumentalist Larry Fiume had the opportunity to sit with the Area All-State Band.
The Camden High School band has been nominated for a SAMMY multiple times in recent years, but 2025 was the year they finally took the beautiful engraved stone trophy home against a wide-ranging group of 64 ensembles and arts organizations from across the area. To be nominated is an honor in itself, as the list of nominees in the category included some very impressive peers. It includes professional ensembles such as Symphoria and The Syracuse Orchestra, along with well-respected educational ensembles from across the region.
CHS Band Director Matthew Donaleski was grateful that his ensemble could receive such prominent recognition.
“This award is truly a reflection on the support we receive from our community,” Donaleski said. “In Camden, we want to celebrate our kids, and I appreciate that our people and the greater Central New York community are taking notice of what we’re doing. We have an outstanding group of musicians here.”
Accepting the award on the Band’s behalf was Jamie Snyder, CHS Class of 1989. Snyder was on-site representing local business The Good Life Tavern, who also received a People’s Choice Award for “Best Venue” on a great night for the Queen Village. Local band Buffy and the Boyz also made a strong run through this year's bracket.
Congratulations to our students, to our neighbors at Good Life Tavern and the Rome Free Academy Marching Band, and to all of our fellow winners across Central New York!
