Tonin Tershana (June 1, 1949 – September 22, 2015)
The golden voice of the singing microphone.
“I am a son of Shkodra and I am more at home there. I passed my infantile education there, I started singing and that’s what connects me to that city. But the emotions are even more special when you step on a stage like the one in Shkodra”
One of the most popular voices, one of the singers who made an era in Albanian music. He is a record on the Albanian scene, since in his first debut, at the 4th Radio & Tv Festival, with the song “When spring comes” (Music by Pjetër Gaci, lyrics by Fatos Arapi), he received the first prize. Tershana was only 16 years old then. He also won the first prize at the 11th RTVSH Festival.
Tonin Tershana has participated in over 20 festivals, winning 4 first prizes, becoming one of the singers with the most trophies in Festivals. The President of the Republic, Bamir Topi, has given him the high title “Grand Master”.
Tonin Tershana, the great of the scene, even though he lived far from the Albanian scene, he remains the son of “Shkoder loce”, so Shkodra, which gave birth to him, gave him the title “Citizen of Honor” .
Born in Shkodër on June 1, 1949. He with his voice and his performances in front of the microphone have entered the golden constellation of Albanian singers. One of the biggest names in our music that the Albanian scene has ever had. He is fondly remembered by a whole generation that at that time looked forward to the RTVSH Festival.
Tonini was only 5 years old when his father passed away, leaving him an orphan with two brothers and three sisters under the warm care of his grandmother.
His mother and 17-year-old brother worked to support the family He got in touch with music at the age of 13, when he turned from a shy boy into a boy with a singing talent and secretly singing the Italian songs of v. 50-60s from where we can mention the “Chitarra Romana”. Only the desire for music and song makes him enter its beautiful art.
He sings serenades and songs for various reasons in Shkoder. He didn’t manage to finish school in Tirana because back then it was on a fee-based basis, and if he couldn’t, he was forced to return to Shkoder after two years.
In his town, he started working as a shoemaker’s apprentice for a short period of 5-6 months. Here, the amateur stage of the craft business is also activated. The music manager Mr. Burhan Culici loves him like his son and keeps him close.
Well, like many mobile children, he also decides to return to Tirana, even though he is alone without anyone close to him in the capital. After that, he started working in the cigarette factory in Shkoder and became active with the show of this company. It will be precisely the well-known composer Ferdinand Deda who will invite him to participate in the 4th Festival at RTSH in 1965.
However, he reached the road to success immediately when he stepped on the stage of this festival, making a record on this stage, since in his first debut, at the 4th Radio Festival, with the song “”I love you sea” (Te dua o det, composer Tonin Harapi, text Mark Gurakuqi), receives the first prize. He was only 16 years old then. It was a dream for the singer who was destined to become great. At that age, he only had the desire, but he thought it was impossible. He doesn’t even remember the emotions of the winner, and maybe because of his young age, he doesn’t care, but he returns to Shkoder, continuing his “journeys” between Tirana and his city.
However, for three years he did not participate in the Festival. It will be the one from 1968 when he returns to this scene. In 1972, at the age of 23, he took part in the famous 11th Festival, and even won it with the song “When Spring Comes”. Before the event of this Festival, which is now known, the winner was appointed to go to represent Albania for the first time in the European Festival that year will be held in Germany.
Forget it!! Tershana and other festival winners were never sent until the late 1990s.
After the 90s, he was completely separated from the Festival, for many reasons, the main one being the “bad taste” brought by the music and currents in those years. The music and songs of his generation seem to have been forgotten. Traditional Albanian music was deformed, the lyrics started to become less and less artistic.
Tonin Tershana, with a winner’s mentality, said: “When I participate in the Festival, I want to be a winner, to compete to be a winner, for sure not to be ranked last”. So he doesn’t find his music, his songs a success, like many other singers of that golden generation.
In 1997, during a difficult period, he was forced to emigrate to Greece.
There you have to start from scratch in everything and replace the scene with the physical work of a mason, a porter and others that you never thought you would do.
After 14 years in emigration, Tonin Tershana returns to Albania. He remains disappointed by the music of the time that was circulating, which does not motivate him for any project. First, he lived in a rented house in Tirana and then he managed to get an apartment for his family, but unfortunately he could not enjoy it, being separated from his life and loved ones on September 22, 2015.
The Albanian music icon has participated in over 20 festivals winning 4 awards the first and becoming one of the singers with more trophies at Festivals. The former President of the Republic, Bamir Topi, gave him the high title “Grand Master”.
Some of the successful songs of the repertoire:
“Our Dawns (duet with L. Theodhori) ; “Every Dawn you wake up Younger”; “Martyrs of freedom”; “Happy days”; “Cradle of the Bravely” (duet with L. Zhegun); “Llight in Your Eyes”; “Our Hands”; “Beautiful Albania”; “Spring came”; “Laugh my little one”, “Blow my wind of freedom”; “Grandfather and granddaughter”; “Mother’s song”; “Poet’s song” “Serenity”, “Happiness”; “The precious memory when spring comes”; “Lulet e basmave”, “Happiness is not given”, “On the track”, “With my friends among you”, “The teacher of the village”, “Good morning”, “Stop a little and speak once”, “The mother of the hut”; “Our mother”; “Warmth”; “Oh my beauty”; “My party”; “Sky and sea”; “The partisan road”, “I met you”, “I love you sea”, “My girl”, “My flower”, “My girl from Dibra; “Fiery years”; etc. ______________________________
Albanian Cinematography in activity since 2013
References: It was published for the first time in Albanian Cinematography – Facebook Page in May 2016 and was revised in the following years.
Reference: Information found online as well as the show “5 o’clock in the afternoon” on TV Klan.
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