Tonin Tërshana (; 1 June 194922 September 2015) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

singer from

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

. He was a frequent participant of

Festivali i Këngës (; ), commonly known as and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined th ...

, having won 4 times, the second most in the competition after

Vaçe Zela Vaçe Zela (; 7 April 19396 February 2014) was an Albanian singer and songwriter. She was a leading figure in the music industry and is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. ...

Life and career

Tërshana was born on 1 June 1949 in Shkodër, under the then

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

. His foray into music would start from a young age singing in competitions in Shkodër and

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

. His first entry in ''Festivali i Këngës'' was in its fourth edition in 1965, where he would win first prize performing "Të dua o det", a song composed by Tonin Harapi with lyrics from Mark Gurakuqi. After this win, he was barred from participating in the event in the future, his return being allowed only after an intervention from Petrit Dume. He returned in 1969 and would go on to participate in 18 different editions of the festival, performing 23 different songs and winning on 4 occasions (1965, 1971, 1972 and 1983). Among his most famous body of work are ''Të dua o det'' ("I Love You o Sea"), ''Kënga e nënës'' ("Mother's Song"), ''Kur vjen pranvera'' ("When Spring Comes"), ''Vajzë moj, lule moj'' ("O Maiden, o Flower"), ''Fishekzjarre në qiellin blu'' ("Fireworks in the Blue Sky"), ''Lumturia nuk dhurohet'' ("Happiness Is Not Gifted"). Tërshana died on 22 September 2015 at the "Mother Teresa" Medical Center in Tirana after a long battle with cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tërshana, Tonin 1949 births 2015 deaths Albanian singers Festivali i Këngës winners Albanian actors Musicians from Shkodër