The music and folklore of Russia comes to the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 3 to 4 p.m. As part of the 2009-2010 Music of the Carolinas series, Moscow Nights, an internationally renowned trio of Russian musicians, will perform pieces from Russian folklore, representing the diversity of Russian culture and ranging from gently humorous songs to elaborate, lyrical pieces. PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, co-sponsors the performance. Admission and parking are free.

The trio's pieces are predominantly traditional Russian folk music. During his conservatory years, bandleader Vitaliy Bezrodnov traveled deep into the Russian countryside, interviewing the oldest members of each village in an effort to resurrect and preserve pre-Revolution Russian culture.

The Nov. 8 program will feature rarely used folk instruments, such as the treshotki (a percussion instrument) and birch-bark whistles. The trio performs a unique program based on a culture that almost disappeared.

Led by Bezrodnov on bayan accordion, Moscow Nights was originally formed in Kaluga, Russia, in the late 1980s. After completing his conservatory studies, Bezrodnov successfully reorganized the group in the United States in 1996.

Moscow Nights' concerts offer audiences an entertaining glimpse of old Russia through music, song and dance, bridging almost a century of discord between the United States and Russia. The dazzling, toe-tapping program is broad and varied with something that appeals to everyone.

The group also works with the charity programs Music in Mission and Rotary Children's Fund to raise money for orphans in Russia.

For more information, call 919-807-7900 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org. The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton St., across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street.