Turn It Up For A Local Teacher

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One Fargo South teacher is hitting the final note of his career by retiring.

Jazz Band teacher John Syverson has been teaching for 38 years, something he says he never thought he would do.

Putting their heart and soul into every note, these teens of the jazz band at Fargo South High School say it’s their teacher John Syverson who makes the difference in their music.

Senior Camille Everett said, “I want to talk to you about this song, and I want to talk about what you can do with this, and I care about how you can progress through this. And he does this with each student…And it’s not just with certain students. Like he cares about the band as a whole.”

Syverson has been teaching for almost 4 decades. I asked him if this was something he always wanted to do.

Without hesitation, John Syverson said, “Oh no, this was the last thing i wanted to do.”

With guidance from his father, in 1977 he interviewed for the position and has been a jazz band leader ever since.

“Who knows what would had you pursued the other. But I, couldn’t be more pleased with this profession,”said Syverson.

And even after years of teaching, these students are happy to be a part of this experience.

Junior Owen Duncan said, “To finally be kind of his last year one of his last students, I can’t even put into words. It’s more than I could ever asked for.”

As final farewell, Svyerson will conduct his students to the song Turn It Up, a song composed for him by past and present students. Something he says is bittersweet.

“I could probably summarize it by saying I needed them more than they needed me,” said Svyerson.

You can see Svyerson’s final performance for free at 8:00pm May 20th at Fargo South High School.