Michael Gesme, an associate professor of music at Central Oregon Community College, was chosen by the school’s faculty on May 12 to receive its Faculty Achievement Award.

The award has been handed out annually since 1986, and recognizes excellence in teaching.

”I was pretty much shocked,” Gesme said. ”The level and quality and kinds of things folks do up here is amazing, so (winning) makes it that much more surreal knowing what the general level of the faculty is. It’s an amazing honor.”

Gesme, 36, joined the faculty in 1996, and also conducts the Central Oregon Symphony and the Cascade Winds Symphonic Band. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Luther College, and both a master’s of music in orchestral conducting and a master’s degree in music history from the University of Missouri-Columbia.