Vesper Concerts Presents The Moanin’ Frogs

September 12th, 2025

To perform a musical concert is no small feat, and for saxaphone sextet The Moanin’ Frogs, the question is not which genre to play each performance but how many can be fit into the time allowed. Vesper Concerts welcomes The Moanin’ Frogs to Omaha as the kickoff concert in their 37th season. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday the 12th.  

Vesper Concerts Executive Director Kristi Treu says this concert is part of a larger effort to bring accessible and varied chamber music to the Omaha community. 

“One thing that we’ve done with the series in the last few years is widen the scope of variety of music so no two concerts in our series in any given season are alike,” Treu said. “So the morning frogs very much fit into that unexpected and varied type of chamber music.” 

Established in 2011, The Moanin Frogs was founded by Edward Goodman and Jonathan Hulting-Cohen. The pair took great inspiration from the star saxophone players that performed in the early 20th century. Two songs from the period, That Moanin Saxophone Rag and The Bullfrog Blues, stood out to the two in particular, prompting the idea for the groups name. Although it may have begun with jazz, The Moanin’ Frogs enjoy performing music that highlights the full musical capability the saxophone is capable of. 

“They plan on playing just about every kind of music and when they get together and do these concerts, they do, just every genre imaginable,” Treu said. “Of course, classical, they’ll do jazz, ragtime, funk, hip hop and rock so it will be such a wide variety of musical choices.” 

The Moanin’ Frogs consists of six members representing the full lineup of the saxophone family with Edward Goodman on soprano saxophone, Gabriel Piqué on alto saxophone, Johnathan Hulting-Cohen and Jeff Siegfried on tenor saxophone, Jeffrey Leung on baritone saxophone and Lucas Hopkins on bass saxophone.  

Vesper Concerts will host The Moanin’ Frogs at the Presbytarian Church of the Cross, located at 1517 S 114th St. Doors to the lobby be open to the public at 6 p.m. and guests are welcome to find their seats starting at 6:30 p.m. Treu says the smaller performance space makes for a more immersive experience. 

“Even if you’re not sitting up close in the first row, even in the back row, you still have such a wonderful, clear view of the performers and they still feel close,” Treu said. “So you feel like you’re part of the music instead of just maybe a passive observer.”

For more information about The Moanin’ Frogs performance or Vesper Concerts, you can visit vesperconcerts.org.