We are hosting a grand opening reception to celebrate the successful establishment of our new biomedical research institute. We invite you to meet our highly esteemed faculty and to learn more about the Scintillon Institute and all of the exciting and cutting edge research we are pursuing. We are providing an evening full of hors d'ouvres and drinks accompanied by live music featuring some of San Diego's top musical artists. Among this talented group of musicians are noted soprano Malesha Taylor, Navy Band Southwest oboist Glencora Davies, and Scintillon's very own Dr. Nathan Shaner. Read more about these amazing artists below.

The Reception will be held at the historic ZLAC Rowing club just steps from the sand on Mission Bay on December 12th, 2014 from 5 – 8pm

Address:

ZLAC Rowing Club

1111 Pacific Beach Drive

San Diego, CA 92109

OUR MUSICIANS:

Malesha Taylor, Soprano

Noted for her rich vocal color and range, Malesha is a versatile artist of both the operatic and concert stages. Her engagements include solo performances with the Boston Pops Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Disney Concert Hall, War Memorial Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl,Orange County Performing Arts Center, and the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. Malesha began with Los Angeles Opera covering Tebaldo in Don Carlo and Javotte in Manon. She made her debut with the company as Annie in Porgy and Bess and followed as Cercatrice in William Freidkin's production of Suor Angelica. She also played the role of Annie in Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Opera.

Listen to Malesha on YouTube

Glencora Davies, Oboe

Glencora is an oboe and English horn player who is currently on active duty as a musician with the Navy Band Southwest. Prior to joining the Navy, Glencora served as the oboist for the Eon Contemporary Orchestra, Brooklyn Wind Symphony, and the principal oboist for the Green Fund Orchestra. Glencora has appeared at the Aspen, Sarasota, and Texas Music Festivals and at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians. A dedicated educator, Glencora has served on the faculty of the Albert Conservatory in Pennsylvania, actively gives clinics as a woodwind technician for high school band programs, and also maintains a private teaching studio. Glencora holds a Master in Music in Oboe Performance from Mannes College of Music, a Bachelor's degree in Oboe Performance from Temple University, and a high school certificate from the Juilliard School of Music.

Gerard Lambert, Clarinet

Gerard received his Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet performance from CSU Fullerton, where he studied under Swedish recitalist Håkan Rosengren. During his undergraduate years, his trio ensemble was named a finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition and in the international Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Gerard received his Master of Music degree from Baylor University where he also taught the Clarinet Pedagogy course. During that time, he also participated in the highly selective Las Vegas and Round Top music festivals. He has performed in Texas with the Waco Symphony, the San Jose Wind Symphony, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Monterey and the Monterey Bay Symphony. When not playing the clarinet, Gerard works in Dr. Nathan Shaner's lab at the Scintillon Institute as a senior research specialist.

Charles Ermer, Contrabass

Baltimore native Charles Ermer studied double bass at the New England Conservatory of Music and received a Master of Music degree in double bass performance from Carnegie Mellon University. He has performed with the California Chamber Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, and Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, and was acting principal bass of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he has played jazz bass for the Jeremy Fisher Trio and bass guitar for the Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Christian Tordahl, Trumpet

Christian currently teaches band at Valley Center Elementary School, Lilac School, and Pauma School, all in Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District. Previously, he was Band Director at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista. Christian earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. While at Bucknell, he travelled bi-weekly to Eastman School of Music. Christian earned a Master of Music degree in Wind Ensemble and Band Conducting from the University of South Florida where he studied with Dr. Mallory B. Thompson. He is a member of the to the Pomerado Brass Quintet and performs with the Hillcrest Wind Ensemble and is a member of its steering committee.

Dan Weiss, Bassoon

A native of El Paso, Texas, bassoonist Dan Weiss performs regularly with the Greater San Diego Chamber Orchestra and the San Diego Concert Band, as well as smaller chamber ensembles. Dan has been featured at venues in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Boston, and has performed with the San Luis Obispo Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Music Academy of the West Festival Chamber Orchestra, and the Carmel Bach Festival, among others. He graduated with a degree in City and Regional Planning from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he also studied bassoon and was the principal of the University Symphony and Wind Quintet.

Fernando Herrera, Flute

Fernando took up the saxophone in 8th grade and started playing flute in 10th grade. After graduating from Montgomery High School in San Diego he attended SDSU & Coleman College and embarked on a career in Information Technology, all while continuing to dedicate himself to his musical craft. He has performed with the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band, San Diego's Finest City Freedom Band, University of San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Heliotrope Ragtime Orchestra, and the Hillcrest Wind Ensemble. In recent years Fernando has started producing original arrangements of classical pieces for the Hillcrest Wind Ensemble and very much enjoys this new challenge.

Nathan Shaner, Piano

Dr. Shaner began studying piano at age 4. During high school, he studied under concert pianist and recording artist Gabriela Imreh and gave several solo recitals. He continued studying piano and music composition during his early undergraduate years, but ultimately decided to pursue a career in science, eventually earning a B.A. in Physics from Oberlin College, and later a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from UC San Diego, where he studied under Dr. Roger Tsien. Throughout his academic years and afterwards, Dr. Shaner has continued to learn new music and to play piano regularly. He enjoys performing solo repertoire and collaborating with small chamber groups whenever the opportunity arises. Apart from his musical life, Dr. Shaner is a founding investigator at the Scintillon Institute, where he studies biological fluorescence and luminescence.

Scintillon Institute Investigator Jiwu Wang and collaborators have published a new paper describing the generation of universal platelets from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Congratulations to Scintillon Institute Investigator Nathan Shaner for being awarded a BRAIN EAGER grant from the NSF with co-PI Ute Hochgeschwender at Central Michigan University for developing non-invasive optogenetics based on bioluminescence.

The Scintillon Institute is happy to announce that we have been granted 501(c)(3) non-profit status by the IRS.

Scintillon Institute Investigator Nathan Shaner has been awarded an R01 grant from the NIH for the development of fluorescent proteins optimized for live-cell superresolution imaging.

The Scintillon Institute welcomes Professor John Nolan as the newest member of our institute.

Check out our new publication in Nature Methods, "A bright monomeric green fluorescent protein derived from Branchiostoma lanceolatum." (Download PDF)

The move-in process is complete and we're up and running in our new lab space!

We're excited to announce that we'll be moving into our brand new facility in October 2012. The new facility will place us at the heart of San Diego's biotech cluster and give us plenty of room to expand.