Magic Strings (formaly known as Firebird Balalaika Orchestra) is building a reputation as a unique, dynamic, and accomplished group of musicians performing on traditional instruments from Eastern Europe perform at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center (Muck).

These include the domra, a string instrument with a thin, fretted neck and round body first appearing in written records at the end of the 15th century; the balalaika, a triangular-bodied instrument well known to Western audiences from the film Doctor Zhivago; and the bayan, a member of the accordion family popular in Ukraine.