ORQUESTA Z
The Original Tango Band that premiered at Empanada Milonga in 2013 and has returned to entertain our tango dancers with their superb mix of traditional, alternative, and original tangos. They've played throughout the Bay Area from San Jose to Mt. Shasta's Burning Tango, Marin's Belrose, Emeryville's Allegro, and multiple times at Tango in the Square in San Francisco, but by far the favorite venue is the intimate, sunny, and sweet afternoon Empanada Milonga.
Orquesta Z
p r e s e n t s
​EMPANADA MILONGA
at St. Clement's, 2837 Claremont Blvd., Berkeley
SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2025
1:30-2:00 PM TAI CHI TANGO CLASS
2:00 - 6:00 PM EMPANADA MILONGA
featuring
the great DJ, Don An
Join us for a free intro Tai Chi Tango class where you’ll learn the art of movement! In our first lesson, we will focus on the opening step known as the "salida," blending the grace of Tai Chi with the passion of Tango. Experience the harmony of these two disciplines as you connect with your body and spirit. Led by renowned Bay Area dancer Bendrew Jong, this unique dance journey promises to enrich your mind and body through breath and "chi" energy. Don't miss out!
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This class is open to all, but will undoubtedly be particularly appreciated by advanced tango dancers. Normal shoes or barefoot optional. Singles or couples welcome.​
For those interested in learning more here's an article:

Empanada Milonga - 11 yrs @ St. Clement's Berkeley ×
Sunday, Jun 8, 2025
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1:30 - 2:00 Tai Chi Tango Class (singles or couples welcome)
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Free with purchase of Empanada Milonga pass.
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2:00 - 6:00 Empanada Milonga featuring our great DJ Don An's traditional and alternative Argentine Tango recorded music. Plus this month complimentary refreshments and Argentine wine and Susan's Empanadas!!
$25 Empanada Milonga (includes pre-milonga Tai Chi Tango class at 1:30 PM)
Order advanced tickets below at www.OrquestaZ.com before the event!
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Empanada Milonga is celebrating its 11th year at the beautiful St. Clement's Hall in Berkeley, held on the 2nd Sunday of each month, featuring a sunlit, garden room, great oak floors, our complimentary empanadas, refreshments and Argentine wine, with wonderful, danceable Golden Era and alternative Argentine tango. It is the sweetest afternoon milonga in the Bay Area with friendly dancers, staff, and tango aficionados.​
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RESERVE TICKETS TODAY

​​​You're welcome to reserve and prepay via PayPal for no extra fee.
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RESERVE TICKETS TODAY
Empanada Milonga is a non-profit organized by Orquesta Z.
Your tax-deductible donation of any amount is greatly appreciated.
It's easy...just press the Donate button!


Location Map: St. Clement's Berkeley
2837 Claremont Blvd, Berkeley CA 94705
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR
Sun. Jun 8, 2025. Empanada Milonga with DJ Don A with special free pre-milonga TAI CHI TANGO Class by tai chi master and tangier Bendrew Jong. No live band scheduled.
Sun. Jul 13, 2025 Empanada Milonga with MAXI COPELLO and his wonderful new partner Karu in an afternoon of teaching and demonstration. A truly special event!!! Also featuring the new ORQUESTA Z QUARTET playing traditional and alternative live tango music.
Sun. Aug 10 2025. Empanada Milonga with our long-time favorites back from Buenos Aires, DIEGO LANAU and ALEJANDRA SARAVIA.
Sun. Sep 14, 2025. Empanada Milonga with Maestros from Buenos Aires, Monica and Omar "LOS OCAMPOS"

NOTICE: EMPANADA MILONGA IS NOW FREE OF COVID-VACCINE RESTRICTIONS!
As of our May 14, 2023 Milonga, we are no longer checking vaccinations, and masks are now optional, in alignment with the federal government, the termination of the Covid-19 emergency health regulations, and now the announcement by the World Health Organizations ending Covid restrictions. Please join us as we celebrate the end of the pandemic, but also adhere to basic social principles: do not come if you are feeling ill, feverish.
After 18 months of Covid-19 shutdown, we are pleased to open to all our monthly milonga at the lovely St. Clement's, as we continue our 1lth year of presenting Argentine tango in Berkeley on each 2nd Sunday of the month. Thank you our tango friends and family for supporting our non-profit endeavors for so many years and supporting Argentine tango in the Bay Area!


The beautiful St. Clement's Fellowship Hall,

DJ Don An
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Orquesta Z since 2013 has been the non-profit organizer of Empanada Milonga.
Keep posted here on TangoMango.org and Facebook.
AND FIND ORQUESTA Z on FACEBOOK
ORQUESTA Z QUINTET - 2019

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS!
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Orquesta Z is the sponsor of Empanada Milonga, in its 11th year at St. Clements.
We depend on private donations 100% to survive. During our 2024-25
fundraising we've been blessed to have the support of local patrons like you:
Susan & Juan Moreno Darryl & Margaret Fown Dan Gilliland Chuck Randall
Jan Meissner Kim Cappell Margaret Copi Mark Sakowski Anneke Jong
Gene Hill and many others plus, and our corporate sponsor Mechanics Bank
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ABOUT ORQUESTA Z
Orquesta Z is the non-profit sponsor of Empanada Milonga for the past 10 years at St. Clement's.
Formed in 2011, Orquesta Z is composed of San Francisco Bay Area musicians with a love for Argentine tango. Our repertoire is rich with Golden Era Argentine tangos plus modern and original compositions from today and from around the world. The tangos we play are chosen to be interesting, engaging, and most importantly danceable!

Orquesta Z
musicians
Sandy Schniewind, Contrabass
Sandy comes from a very musical Bay Area family. Her mother was Concertmaster of Prometheus Symphony until 1973, when she joined the Oakland Symphony and played with them for 38 years. Sandy learned piano from her grandmother, then played violin. In fourth grade, she played in the Kensington Community Orchestra with Robin Hansen, conducted by Bob Hansen (who just might be related to Eric Hansen).
“In sixth grade, my music teacher said, ‘we need a bass player and since you play piano, you can read bass clef. Here’s a bass.’” Sandy basically taught herself how to play it. She played it through school, but got really tired of lugging the bass around on buses. The lure of jazz and folk rock led her to singing and playing guitar with the Oakland Jazz Choir and folk rock bands—that heavy bass fell out of her life.
Meanwhile, Sandy went to UC San Diego and University of the Pacific in Stockton, getting a degree in music therapy. Sandy recently retired after decades as Director of Rehabilitation at the Gladman Mental Health Rehabilitation Center, a facility for long-term psychiatric care.
In the summer of 2009, Sandy signed up for a chamber workshop week, on piano. The Director found out she had played bass and persuaded her to borrow one of theirs and play bass instead. “I had to use Google to see if the bass would even fit in my car. I realized then that I regretted giving up such a beautiful instrument.” Sandy started taking lessons and talked with Eric Hansen about joining Prometheus.
We discovered Sandy at her first performance of Argentine tango at Crowden School, directed by our past violinist Jim Shallenberger, in 2013, and we are lucky she's been with Orquesta Z since!
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Ruth Kravis, Violin
Picture this: A 15-year-old Ruth sits in her Canberra (Australia) garage, carefully, patiently building an entire electric violin of Canadian maple wood. And it actually works! Hooked up to speakers and everything! You will not be surprised to learn that Ruth is pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering and plays violin withPrometheus Symphony (and now Orquesta Z). “My design was purely esthetic,” Ruth laughs, “in what I thought was a really cool “S”shape with the chin rest at the bottom of the S. It looked incredible. But it was totally unwieldy and way too heavy to really play.”
Ruth grew up in Canberra capital of Australia, playing violin since she was 7 years old, then through Youth and Community Orchestras, and finally with the symphony at the Australion National University where she received a joint degree in Engineering and Philosophy.
Drawn to Cal Berkeley for it’s exceptional electrical engineering program, Ruth is now working for her PhD, but still devotes time for violin with Prometheus, playing fiddle at pubs, and now we are introducing Ruth as our latest violin player, premiering with the OZ Trio while she is still in the San Francisco Bay Area. We hope she will remain here to grace us with her beautiful violin playing.
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Bendrew Jong, director Orquesta Z, piano/bandoneon
Starting at 6-years old, Bendrew began piano lessons in Berkeley with the famed Shirley Adams, and continued through high school, where he was musical director, pianist, and composer for an original musical “So How’s Your Sister?” at Harry Ells High in Richmond. Then, attending UC Berkeley and graduating in Architecture, Ben took music classes through his 5 years at the University of California at Berkeley, including opera and chorus and music theory. Then taking a 40 year hiatus as a full-time architect, Bendrew discovered Argentine tango and the rest is history, first dancing tango throughout the world while in his 50’s and 60’s and now performing and composing tangos as part of Orquesta Z, which he helped form in 2011. He’s so pleased to be able to have performed with such stellar alumni of Orquesta Z as James Shallenberger, who founded the Kronos Quartet, and dozens of others who have added to the rich repertoire of Orquesta Z.
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