TOP: Yale Strom and his wife, Elizabeth, 
at Belle Isle in 2017. ABOVE: Yale Strom 
at Blueish concert. TOP RIGHT: Yale 
Strom listening to his quartet.

60 | AUGUST 17 • 2023 

in 2017. A notable documentary was 
A Great Day on Eldridge Street, (2013) 
about a gathering in October 2007 of 
100 international klezmer musicians 
that Strom organized for a photo shoot 
outside the Lower East Side’s historic 
synagogue in NYC. 
His poignant photographs depict-
ing people he met, experiences he 
encountered and places he has visited 
have won awards. His photos are part 
of many collections including the 
Skirball Cultural Center in LA, the 
Jewish Museum of NYC, the Frankfort 
Jewish Museum in Germany and 
Jewish Museum in Budapest. “I have 
also sold about 300 photos to collec-
tors over the years,” he says. 
One of Strom’s most memorable 
events was in 2015, when the Obamas 
invited him to the White House for a 
Chanukah party. “I got the invitation 
through email and at first I thought 
it was fake,” he says. “But it was real. 
The White House’s Jewish liaison 
heard of me and that’s how I got the 
invite. It was amazing. We met the 
Obamas, and they were so nice to 
us. There was candle lighting, a lot 
of food and we met people from the 
cabinet. My wife was excited she got 
to meet Elena Kagan. Surprisingly and 
coincidentally, I wound up seeing one 
of my cousin’s there — a rabbi.” 
As a Jewish scholar, Strom found 
one perk is being able to lead Jewish 
heritage tours around the globe. He has 
previously led groups to Spain/Portugal, 
Morocco/Gibraltar and Argentina. This 
month he is speaking and performing in 
Stockholm, Sweden. 
It’s hard to say what Strom does in 
his spare time, as his jam-packed sched-
ule doesn’t allow him much free time. 
Strom has been married to his wife, 
Elizabeth, for 26 years, and they have a 
daughter, Tallulah, who is a guitarist and 
a social worker. “Our daughter is very 
talented,
” he proudly reports. 
As Strom rattles off all his accom-
plishments, awards and accolades, he 
stresses he is not bragging, just listing 
what he’s done. But the truth is, Strom 
really does have a lot to brag about. 

ARTS&LIFE
PROFILE

continued from page 59

Upcoming 
Strom Events

These are some of Yale 

Strom’s upcoming events, 

projects and appearances: 

Sept. 8: His newest doc-

umentary film Recordially 

Yours, Lou Curtiss will screen 

in Encinitas, CA. 

Oct. 10-21: Strom will be 

leading a Jewish Heritage 

tour (Ayelet.com) to Croatia 

and the Adriatic coast. He will 

give lectures and concerts in 

Zagreb, Rijeka and Split.

Oct. 24: Strom will premiere 

his new recording “The Wolf 

and The Lamb: Live at the 

Shakh” with Hot Pstromi 

at UCSD Park & Market. 

Musicians are coming in from 

Prague and New York City. 

Oct. 26: Strom will perform 

with this same ensemble at 

Valley Beth Shalom in Los 

Angeles.

Oct. 27: They will perform 

with this same ensemble 

at University Synagogue in 

Irvine, California.

Nov. 8: Hot Pstromi with spe-

cial guests Fred Benedetti 

(guitar) and Amos Hoffman 

will perform at Congregation 

Bnai Jeshurun in New York 

City.

Nov. 12: Yale Strom, 

Elizabeth Schwartz and Amos 

Hoffman will perform at the 

Washington, D.C., JCC.

COURTESY OF YALE STROM

