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Jennie Dorris (MMus鈥�05) takes classical music to the coffee shop.

The hiss of coffee steamers, clinking cutlery and murmur of conversation are an unlikely backdrop for a concert of Mozart, Dvo艡谩k and Takemitsu. But for听Jennie Dorris听(MMus鈥�05), a coffee shop is the perfect place to perform live classical chamber music.

Dorris and her Telling Stories troupe perform chamber music and read original essays at casual Colorado venues, including caf茅s and art galleries. They鈥檝e even performed amid kegs of beer in a brewery warehouse.

Founded by Dorris in 2006, Telling Stories is a concert series that draws on a cast of 100 classically trained freelance musicians and writers who want to make chamber music and literature 鈥渁 little more fun and a lot less stuffy.鈥� It has its own radio show on Colorado Public Radio.

Her goal is to attract a younger audience to classical music, and what better way to do that than by performing where the show can be enjoyed over coffee or a brew?

鈥淚 want to make classical music more approachable,鈥� Dorris says. 鈥淢ost 20-somethings are not invested in classical music and have zero patron knowledge. That meant plopping music down in the middle of their lives.鈥�

And in the process, Dorris, 31, is carving out an unconventional niche by combining her two passions 鈥� writing and music 鈥� into one creative career.

鈥淐lassical music has such complexity and passionate intensity,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can hear a sad pop song and enjoy it, but when I listen to a Chopin prelude, I can feel the sorrow.鈥�

Dorris plays percussion instruments, including drums, vibraphone, glockenspiel and a six-foot-long, five-octave marimba. She graduated from CU-Boulder with a master鈥檚 degree in percussion performance during a tight economic climate in which young musicians were jockeying for scarce positions in traditional orchestras. Rather than get a job while waiting for a position to open, Dorris decided to take music to the people.

Telling Stories鈥� inaugural hour-long concert was at the Laughing Goat Coffeehouse on Pearl Street in Boulder. The theme was听Getting Ahead of Ourselves, a tongue-in-cheek nod to her concern she was launching Telling Stories prematurely.

鈥淭he idea of that first concert was to push the concept down the mountain and see if it would roll,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard when you鈥檙e making your own career path because you don鈥檛 even know what the milestones look like.鈥�

Her concerts typically consist of three to five musicians playing classical chamber music or a commissioned new chamber piece interspersed with two to four writers reading short original essays based on a theme. Topics have included听Rush Hour,Expecting听and听Guilty Pleasures. Although these novel concerts are performed outside the traditional symphony or recital hall, the classical repertoire is never compromised.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 ever dumb down our music,鈥� Dorris says. 鈥淲e play hard and sometimes avant-garde repertoire and people come along with us because they鈥檙e comfortable. They鈥檙e not trapped in their seats scared they鈥檒l cough. They love to stay after concerts and talk with the performers. We鈥檙e attracting people who are new to classical music.鈥�

Music and writing have been part of her life since Dorris was growing up in Oklahoma.

鈥淚f you saw me in high school, you鈥檇 see a younger version of me doing what I do now,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was running the school newspaper and playing in the band.鈥�

She double-majored in music and magazine writing at Drake University. After graduating Dorris wanted more training and mentorship for her music, which led her to the College of Music at CU-Boulder. With writing, however, she just wanted more work. She has written for publications as diverse as听Field & Stream听and听Entrepreneur听and wrote a blog for听5280 Magazine听about living an affordable sustainable life.

Since it launched, Telling Stories has transformed into a burgeoning business. In 2010 Dorris received a MasterMind Award from Denver鈥檚听Westword听magazine for being a cultural visionary, and she has been featured in听Symphony Magazine.

Dorris stays busy with music, writing and extending her interdisciplinary reach. She teaches journalism at Community College of Denver and music at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colo. She is a sabbatical replacement instructor at the CU College of Music and plays with the Colorado Ballet and Colorado Springs Philharmonic.

In addition, she created a program at the Denver School of the Arts in which she works with high school students to produce 10-minute performance pieces showcasing the kids鈥� music, art and writing.

Jeffrey Nytch, director of CU鈥檚 Entrepreneurship Center for Music, emphasizes the untapped opportunities for the entrepreneurial musician.

鈥淭he most effective entrepreneurs are those who create opportunities that didn鈥檛 exist before,鈥� Nytch says. 鈥淢usicians who succeed at this connect with the audience because they have something authentic to communicate while staying true to their art.鈥�

Dorris has learned that finding her niche means developing a career that is a satisfying amalgam of two arts.

鈥淚 love interdisciplinary work because I鈥檓 wearing all my hats,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not just a writer or a musician. I鈥檓 the type of person who can see how many different things can work together.鈥�

Kenna Bruner, a writer and editor with the CU-Boulder office of university communications, interviews and writes about CU鈥檚 many interesting and inspiring faculty, students and alumni.

Photo:听Founded by Jennie Dorris (MMus鈥�05), Telling Stories is a concert series that draws on a cast of 100 classically trained freelance musicians and writers who want to make chamber music and literature 鈥渁 little more fun and a lot less stuffy.鈥�