Lawrence Bagwell’s Lifetime of Music
“After I was diagnosed with diabetes last year, my doctor sent me to a diabetic clinic where I went through classes to learn how to manage my diabetes. One of the first things they told me was that I needed to change my eating habits. As a musician and performer, I don’t have a lot of time to cook meals. The doctor gave me a pamphlet for October Kitchen and told me to check them out. I went in person and was greeted very well. When I brought home some food, I was surprised by how much I liked it. I’ve been eating with October Kitchen for nine months and I feel 20 years younger! My doctors are very pleased.”
performing Handel’s “Messiah” at a very young age. The way Lawrence tells it, he started playing piano as a child and never stopped. However, being a musician isn’t always smooth sailing. “My business as a concert artist means I have contracts to perform. When you have contracts, you need to be ready to perform, even if you don’t feel well. Performing is your means of living. It became a lot harder for me to fulfill my contracts when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago. It was a difficult time, but after two major operations, the doctors were
happy to report that I was cancer-free. While I thank God that I’m cancer-free, my doctors believe the medicine I took after the operations led to me developing diabetes. Fortunately, October Kitchen’s healthy meals have helped me control my diabetes while still being able to eat well and keep my contracts.” The customers who walk into October Kitchen come with different stories and amazing talents to share with the world. Few people are as musically gifted as
–Lawrence Bagwell
For decades, Lawrence Bagwell has been a renowned concert pianist. He graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music, taught a gospel course at the University of Hartford and now, in his retirement, acts at the minister of music at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Bloomfield. This lifelong love of music comes from his parents. Lawrence’s mother and father were at the pulpit all his life.
Lawrence Bagwell and we’re very happy to have him as a customer. Though Lawrence has always had a gift for music, he says his real talent comes from a lifetime of playing. “I’m 76 years old,” Lawrence says. “My kids are in their 40s, and I have grandkids in their 20s. My extensive background has allowed doors to be opened to me and my ability has introduced me to many wonderful people. Music has always been my passion and I do it so well because I’ve done it for so long. It’s a wonderful life, and I am very blessed.”
“My mother threw me at the church musician as a way to calm my bad behavior,” Lawrence explains. “‘Teach this boy something,’ she said. Fortunately, I was fascinated with the keyboard. I was just 11 years old and I learned in leaps and bounds. It became my passion. At 18 years old, I was the only African American playing in the Boston Symphony.” Lawrence grew up in Boston and developed a great love for classical music, thanks to his parents. His favorite composers were Bach and Beethoven and he was
2 OctoberKitchen.com
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