National Symphony Orchestra to give free Christmas concerts

To welcome the festive season, the National Symphony Orchestra will give a series of Christmas concerts next week in churches around the Central Valley.

Guest conductor Ramiro Ramírez will take the baton and soprano María Marta López will accompany the orchestra. The program will include Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, selections from Handel’s Messiah and The Many Moods of Christmas (Suite 2), arranged by Robert Shaw and Robert Russell.

The performance schedule is as follows: Dec. 12, Our Lady of the Angels Basilica, Cartago; Dec. 13, Metropolitan Cathedral, San José; Dec. 14, Alajuela Cathedral; Dec. 15, San Antonio de Belén Church; and Dec. 16, Moravia Church. All concerts will start at 7 p.m. Admission is free.