Original subtitles

- All right, well, it's a real pleasure

to welcome Kris Bowers our composer,

who has written a concerto "For a Younger Self".

Welcome.

- Can I ask you a question?

- All right, granddaddy

- Can you tell me just what is concerto?

- So it's basically this piece that has a soloist

and an ensemble, an orchestra.

The two are having a conversation.

And so sometimes that conversation

can be this person speaking.

And now this person's speaking

sometimes the conversation is at the same time.

Yeah. And it really depends on, on how the composer wants to

or how I want to frame that conversation.

- Did you ever picture yourself

doing what you're doing now?

- Huh.

- I'm very aware of the fact that I'm a black composer

and lately actually I've been wondering whether

or not I'm supposed to be in the spaces that I'm in

or supposed to have gotten

to the point that I've gotten to.

- Well, I can tell you one thing.

Never think that you're not supposed to be there

'cause you wouldn't be there

if you wasn't supposed to be there.

It goes back to slavery.

- My grandfather found out he has cancer a little while ago.

I wanted to spend some more time with him

and like talk to him about his life, about our family.

Ask as much as I can before he passes

- Granddaddy, need a little bit of help with this.

- Do what?

- Getting this steamed out for the show

- Okay, don't step on the pedals.

push it right in the corner.

- Okay wow okay

- We gonna make you real handsome here.

You gonna be ready to go.

- Thank you sir.

- Growing up in the South was quite

a thing for me,

Bascom, Florida, as far back as I can remember

I think the plantation was the Bowers plantation.

- All 13 of you all grew up in that house?

- Yeah.

- Wow

- Now how all of us stayed in two rooms?

I don't know.

(Kris laughing)

We would start on the porch singing

and there were people I don't know how they could hear

that far would come and drive in the front yard

and listen to us sing at night.

People in that area was the blacks were Bowers

and the whites was Bevis.

Bevis had the grocery store, but when daddy walked

into the store, this kid about my size, small kid.

- How old were you about this point?

- I probably was six or seven years old

and he would walk to my dad and say,

what could I get for you boy,

that's stuck with me forever.

Why are you calling my daddy boy?

And dad would answer him,

Sir.

Yes sir.

No sir.

But it was something that stayed with me

because I knew then when I got of age

I was gonna leave there.

I didn't want no parts of the farm.

I didn't want no parts of that part of the country.

I just wanted to leave.

Wherever

I could get a ride to. That's what I was headed to.

- What was that process like hitchhiking

as like a black man in America, in the 1940s.

- I had to be crazy.

Now the first place I remember being is in Detroit

a man picked me up.

He was saying that he could get me a job

and a place to stay and all of that.

And I asked him does it snow there he said, yes.

And that was the end of that

because I didn't want to be in a place that was cold.

But I hitchhiked from there to Denver, Colorado.

And I was in this Greyhound Bus station

'cause they had two counters, white and black

so I could get something to eat.

And I heard somebody say, Los Angeles, California.

And I said, that's where I wanna go.

- Huh?

- Never heard of Los Angeles before.

And I had 27 or 28 dollars.

I didn't know I was going to make it

but I knew I was going to make it.

So I said, well,

I'm gonna pretend to be an employment agency

and call around to get a job.

- Wow.

Got a telephone book, started at the As,

A Cleaners.

And I don't think I'd made more than five calls

and the phone rang and it was the A Cleaners.

And they said that they needed a presser.

I got all their information.

I said, okay, I'll send someone right out.

And that was me.

That's where I met your grandmother.

- How old were you when you bought the cleaners?

- I was 20.

- Wow.

- So within two years I had gone from homeless to

I was in business

But I never could get a loan.

And I owned the place.

I said, now something wrong with this picture.

And I told him I'd come in for the loan.

And he said, no, I don't have anything.

And I left later and picked up an application

and I mailed it in

few days later, I got a call.

Your loan is approved.

I said, it's the color of my skin.

I said, in the South they tell you

in Los Angeles they show you

from then on we started buying property.

Did things that, the cleaner everything

but nobody ever saw me.

Everything was done by mail.

People are constantly throwing up things to stop you in life.

But you've got to know you cannot stop me.

(hopeful piano music playing)

- My name is Kristopher Bowers and I want to play

Shining Star and the Magic Flute

(hopeful piano music playing)

- My parents decided before I was born

they wanted me to play piano.

Literally I think it's called like piano sampler

number five that they used to put

on my mom's stomach every day.

Actually one of the first pieces

of music I ever wrote was on this piano.

- I remember you just playing around

here all the time.

But we were up there at a restaurant one day

I believe it was a Sunday

- at Marie Callenders

- Marie Callenders. Okay.

They had a piano there and I asked the guy, could you play it?

And they said, yes, I carried you over there.

And you were playing it.

And I was proud of you.

- There aren't that many opportunities

for young kids of color

to showcase their talents or to interact

with other kids of color playing music

and doing those things.

And you were talking about being my manager essentially

from the very beginning.

If I didn't have that

I probably wouldn't have been as confident pursuing music.

- I remember, where were you at school

that I was up there

- What in New York at Juilliard or

- Juilli wherever it was, you enjoyed it.

So that's all I was thinking

of you enjoying and making a living at it, never thought that far

- [announcer] And the winner is Kris Bowers

(soft piano music playing) (crowd applauding)

- Greenbook

- What do you think your biggest challenge is today?

- My biggest challenge today?

Being honest with my health

just trying to stay healthy.

That would be my challenge today.

I got a few more years to go

but I'm almost to the top,

10 more years and I'll be at the top.

so now I just keep trying to do the best I can.

- Yeah.

- And enjoy seeing my children and grandchildren

being successful.

That's glory in itself.

- It's just something that,

I hope I had a little something to do with it.

Then sings my soul

My savior

My God to thee

How great

thou art.

How great

thou art

You did it! You did it!

- Still surprises you