Conversations with Obadiah Baker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Obadiah Baker.

Hi Obadiah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I am originally a native of Cleveland’s Hough community, infamous for the Hough Riots of 1966. Growing up in a lower-middle-class household of six siblings, I faced challenges as a minority living in a disadvantaged/underserved impoverished inner-city community, especially as a male. A musician, Army officer, war veteran, businessman, and scholar, I rose above my circumstances to achieve great success. Wanting to give back, I founded Tender Heart Crusades, a nonprofit organization that directs its attention toward community involvement.

From 2009 to the present, I, with help from many volunteers, continue to make great strides in concentrated poverty communities. I am also an award-winning independent filmmaker. My latest film, The Shadow Between Us (2022), had its world premiere at the Toronto Black Film Festival and its West Coast Premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival in California. The Greater Cleveland Film Commission also did a city-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) spotlight in September on the film.

I am a doctoral student at Drexel University, where I study Leadership and Management with a concentration on Creativity and Innovation. My dissertation will study the effects of arts-based antiracism social-emotional learning on empathy development. I am also a Fulbright Scholar and will conduct a 2023 research abroad in Israel to inform my dissertation topic, working with Hebrew University and the faculty at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

My Fulbright research will study the cross-cultural replication and power of shadow dance as a conflict resolution and global peace intervention technique, focusing on the interplay of Israeli Gaga and American shadow dance on Israeli Jewish students’ awareness of race and identity. I also recently composed an orchestral piece called “Winter,” commemorating the COVID-19 global pandemic, and completed my first string quartet at the Peabody Institute, where I study with Pulitzer-Prize Winning composer Kevin Puts.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Growing up in a lower-middle-class household of six siblings, I faced challenges as a Black male in a disadvantaged, underserved, impoverished inner-city community. However, understanding intersectionality and how it affects a person’s advancement inspired my antiracism research at Drexel University and community activism.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an American Neo-Romanctic composer and film producer who draws inspiration from film soundtracks and life events. My music creates colorful, empathetic sound worlds that convey strong emotions of joy, sorrow, compassion, and struggle. I often juxtapose rich harmonies and full orchestrations with passionate melodies and improvisation, reflecting my classical training at Interlochen Arts Academy and my Black heritage as a gospel and jazz musician.

My musical themes and documentary storylines typically touch on intersectionality, urging listeners and viewers to self-reflect to influence sustainable societal change. I had my music performed by many professional and student ensembles, including, but not limited to, the New England Conservatory Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestras, Prague Orchestra, Bergamot String Quartet, Popebama experimental music ensemble, and Rainey Institutes’ El Sistema.

I also produced four opera buffa short films—”Connection Lost” (The Tinder Opera), “Something Blue” (The Bachelor Opera), “Someone Like Me” (The Facebook Opera), and “Rumspringawakening” (The Amish Opera)—with filmmaker Adam Taylor of Galaxy454 studios. Two of which–The Amish Opera and Facebook Opera–premiered at Opera Philadelphia in 2022 for their first annual “Opera on Film” series.

Current projects include the third and fourth movements of my string quartet “Ukraine,” a series of Libations short chamber works dedicated to great jazz saxophonists in history, “Speechless” (The Caveman Opera), an orchestral and choral arrangement of the State Anthem of Ukraine “Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy I slava, I volia” for an upcoming documentary film, and an arrangement of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” for Juneteenth.

I hold degrees in music (B.M.) from the New England Conservatory, studying with Danilo Perez, Fred Hersch, and Michael Gandolfi, a degree in business (MBA) from the University of Arkansas Grantham, and currently a double-degree student (EdD and MM) in leadership and management with a concentration in creativity and innovation at Drexel University and music composition at John Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Taking calculated risks can lead to profound personal growth. They will make you more courageous, stronger, and more self-assured. They demonstrate that you can make a decision, commit to it, and create the life you desire for yourself. You strengthen your belief in yourself when you realize that you have succeeded in the past and can do it again. I have taken multiple risks to get where I am today.

My first risk was leaving home at 17 to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy, a boarding school in Northern Michigan. This experience molded me into the accomplished artist I am today. Moreover, leaving home at an early age taught me responsibility, self-reliance, and to trust my instincts. My second risk was joining the Army after 9/11. I was commissioned as a Military Intelligence officer while cross-registered at Northeastern university’s ROTC program and later deployed as a Civil Affairs officer in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

My military experience taught me a systematic approach to leadership, which came naturally to me as a composer and music director. A most recent risk occurred this year when I produced “The Shadow Between Us” during the global pandemic. I shot this film before the release of an available vaccine, which later reached audiences worldwide. This experience taught me the importance of selfless service, something everyone witnessed through the fantastic work of essential service workers everywhere.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tenderheartcrusades.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOzhzvsn1rs
• Other: https://vimeo.com/666118583?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=56228836