Claudia Tornsaufer

About

Born in Essen, Germany, Claudia Tornsäufer, M.M., Ed.D. studied in an accelerated music college program while earning her baccalaureate in biology and Latin followed by two music degrees (Bachelor and Masters) from the Robert-Schumann-Hochschule für Musik in Düsseldorf, Germany. In addition, she continued her classical guitar studies with two Maestros on full scholarships in Paris and Salzburg. In 1994, Dr. Tornsäufer received her Master of Arts in Music at San Diego State University, where she also completed her Doctor of Education with a special focus on educational leadership in California Community Colleges (2013). The three instructional methods under investigation included synchronous online, asynchronous online, and face-to-face. The recent circumstances of the pandemic confirmed her research findings: Students’ retention improves significantly with meaningful interactions in real-time with their peers and professor! 

In 1994, San Diego State University invited Dr. Tornsäufer to join the faculty of the Department of Music & Dance. Since 1996, Dr. Tornsäufer has enjoyed teaching music and opera appreciation courses for the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE). Since 2001, a tenured position professor, Dr. Tornsäufer served several years as the SDCCE Online Faculty Mentor. As a faculty leader, she was tasked to serve as the chair/co-chair of SDCCE Academic Senate’s DE sub-committee. Currently, she serves as the Chair of the Emeritus Program and enjoys teaching her music appreciation students. She has led her department through many processes including the approval of 13 curricula for Older Adults, various presentations to SDCCE committees (e.g., SDCCE's Executive Governance Council, etc.), the extensive data analysis during Program Review, and her department’s visions during the yearly Strategic Planning, which includes the hiring and mentoring of nine new adjunct Emeritus faculty members and one new contract faculty member.

Outside of the college, Dr. Tornsäufer (classical guitarist) performed at the age of 17 for the former German president Dr. Richard von Weizsäcker. In 1990 and 1991 during the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, Austria and in 1992 during the International Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany. Dr. Tornsäufer has worked as a musicologist, editor and contributor for Music Sales Corporation, New York (The Art of the Spanish Guitar, 2007 and Tuscany Publications, Florida) and two documentaries (PBS and NDR about The Romeros), as well as the biography Los Romeros by Dr. Walter Aaron Clark (2018). 

In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband Celin Romero on concert tours of The Romeros (a Spanish classical guitar quartet); visiting her mom and extended family in Germany and Spain; listening to great music; playing her classical guitar; cooking and sharing a Mediterranean meal with friends and family; being outdoors, including skiing or hiking; and spending time with her latest family addition, Sunny, Goldador (=50% Labrador & 50% Golden Retriever) puppy.