Obadiah Baker (b. 1981) is an American composer, filmmaker, and military intelligence officer. He was honored with an Emmy Award for his Musical Composition on the PBS documentary titled "The Shadow Between Us." The film earned four Emmy nominations and won two awards in the categories of Photography and Musical Composition.^[1][2][3]

Obadiah Baker was born in 1981 in Cleveland, Ohio. He pursued classical music studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Baker earned a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) from the New England Conservatory, studying with notable musicians including Danilo Pérez, Fred Hersch, and Michael Gandolfi. He later completed a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) at the University of Arkansas Grantham and also graduated with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership and Management from Drexel University.^[4][5]

Currently, Baker is pursuing Master of Music (M.M.) in Composition at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. In 2022, Baker was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study the use of shadow dance as a conflict resolution and global peace intervention technique in Israel, focusing on its intersection with Israeli Gaga dance and its impact on race and identity awareness.^[1][6]

Baker’s music fuses classical techniques with gospel and jazz. His works have been performed in New England Conservatory Symphony and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Notable pieces include his string quartet "Ukraine," focusing on the Russo-Ukrainian War, with movements dedicated to Kyiv and Lviv, performed by the Bergamot Quartet.

Baker collaborated with filmmaker Adam Taylor which led to several opera buffa short films, such as Connection Lost (The Tinder Opera), Something Blue (The Bachelor Opera), Someone Like Me (The Facebook Opera), and Rumspringawakening (The Amish Opera). He also composed a music for ‘The Shadow Between Us’, a documentary addressing systemic racism and healing through shadow dance. The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto Black Film Festival and earned him the "Best Soundtrack" award at the 2022 Shadow Film Festival in Birmingham, UK, as well as a 2024 Emmy Award for Musical Composition.^[7][8]

Baker takes a phenomenological approach to composition, using historical narratives and lived experiences to inform his music and documentary-style storytelling.^[5]

In 2009, Baker founded Tender Heart Crusades, a nonprofit organization focusing on community service and supporting at-risk youth through education and the arts.

Baker is a Civil Affairs officer in the United States Army Reserves, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has served in Afghanistan and received the Army’s Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts during COVID-19 relief operations.^[9]

Baker conducts research on the cross-cultural applications of shadow dance as a conflict resolution and peace-building technique. His work examines the interplay between Israeli Gaga dance and American shadow dance in promoting race and identity awareness among Israeli Jewish students.^[6]

Baker has received an Emmy Award for Musical Composition/Arrangement in 2024 and the "Best Soundtrack" award at the 2022 Shadow Film Festival for The Shadow Between Us. He was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2022 and the Army Humanitarian Service Award for his contributions to COVID-19 relief.^[3]