The work is imagined as a fantastical telethon, taking place in the middle of the night. A telethon (a portmanteau of “television” and “marathon”) is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days to raise money for a worthy cause. Telethons typically feature variety show style entertainment, with musical acts, comedians and sketches. The quality is often uneven. The “graveyard slot” is the period between 2am and 6am, where television audience is small and therefore content is considered less important. 

Graveyard Slot (with guest appearance) was written for Ensemble Nikel and first performed at the 2019 Bludenz Days of Contemporary Music. 

Matthew Shlomowitz