Tonin Tërshana

Tonin Tërshana (1 June 1949 – 22 September 2015) was an Albanian singer from Shkodër. He was a frequent participant of Festivali i Këngës, having won 4 times, the second most in the competition after Vaçe Zela.

Life and career
Tërshana was born on 1 June 1949 in Shkodër, under the then communist regime. His foray into music would start from a young age singing in competitions in Shkodër and Tirana.

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.