PORTLAND

Former Brunswick town councilor Debbie Atwood has been singing with Women in Harmony since 2002. Back then, there wasn’t even an email list so members could connect with each. And back then her daughters were little girls.

But the Brunswick family is more in tune than ever now that Atwood’s teenaged daughters, Lizz and Evelyn, have joined her in Portland’s 60- voice women’s community chorus. The chorus will present its winter concert, “Never Gonna Stop,” on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 27, at 4 p.m. at Woodfords Congregational Church, 202 Woodford St.

Nineteen-year-old Lizz Atwood is a student at the University of Southern Maine majoring in biology.

“For me it’s nice because I moved to Portland, so this is when I get to see my mom and sister. And it’s corny, but everyone here is like an extended family,” she said.

Evelyn, a 16-year-old Brunswick High School junior, shares her sister’s sentiment. “This is a chorus that creates community. It’s just a wonderful group of women,” she said.

The sense of shared identity that family and community create is apparent as members of the chorus arrived for rehearsal. Most stopped to chat with Atwood and her daughters as they walked through the childcare room in the church basement to the tucked-away rehearsal room behind it.

Singing with her daughters is something of a family tradition for Debbie Atwood, who once sang with her mother and sister in the Brunswick Oratorio Chorale. “I hope my mother was as happy as I am singing with my kids,” she said.

The concert title, “Never Gonna Stop,” comes from its rousing final number, a traditional spiritual called “Ain’t That News.”

As a whole, the program addresses the theme of joining together to overcome the hardships of life, and to create a better world. It includes songs about risk and injustice in the realm of work (“Fifty-Nine Cents,” “More Than a Paycheck” and “Mountain Songs”) as well as songs about the intense emotions of love (“A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” “She Walks in Beauty”), a news release said.

“Life is Not a Garden,” by well-known choral composer Elizabeth Alexander, was written in collaboration with high school students, who put their own particular spin on the lyrics.

The program also includes lively pieces such as “Wade in the Watah” and the percussive “Thulele Mama Ya.”

Now in its 20th year, Women in Harmony presents concerts each January and May. Longtime director Catherine “Kitty” Beller- McKenna is known for her innovative programming, including pieces from various cultures and styles, and joint performance with other arts organizations.

For the Atwoods, the chance to sing without having to be a “singer” attracted them to the group. “A person doesn’t have to be trained. Kitty has all these techniques and practices that help everyone,” Debbie Atwood said.

Lizz Atwood agreed. “Kitty has a different way of explaining things than, like, a high school choir director,” she said.

Evelyn Atwood laughed. “Right. I can remember sitting in the car and listening to Kitty make all these weird vocal noises (on the practice CD),” she said.

It’s those sounds that eventually come together to create women who are truly in harmony.

Stressing musical excellence as well as accessibility, Women in Harmony welcomes women from a wide range of musical backgrounds. While there is a waiting list for women who want to sing with the chorus, there is no audition process. Kitty does what’s called a “vocal check” to see where a prospective singer might fit best in the group.

The group’s singing furthers an organizational mission of advocating for women and social justice, a news release said.

Tickets are available in advance ($12) at Longfellow Books and Starbird Music in Portland, and Nonesuch Books in South Portland or by visiting www.wihmaine.org.

General admission is $15 at the door.

For more information, visit www.wihmaine.org.