Olaf Kopvillem
Estonian singer and chemical engineer (1926-1997)
Olaf Kopvillem (1 November 1926 – 23 July 1997) was a prominent Estonian World War II refugee. Having settled in Canada, he engaged in the organisation of Estonian exile activities there, and is known for his numerous humorous covers of well-known songs.
Kopvillem was born in Kiviõli, Estonia. As a high school student, he joined Eesti Omakaitse and was recruited in the German army, come World War II. In 1944, he emigrated to Germany and later to Canada, where he graduated from Sir George Williams University majoring in chemistry.
Kopvillem headed Montreal Estonian female choir, and was for almost 20 years the leader of Montreal Estonian mixed choir. He also taught at Vikerlased, a folk music group.
He died in Burlington, Ontario, Canada or 23 July 1997 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, of Parkinson's disease.
Awards
In 1996, Olaf Kopvillem was awarded the Meie Mats.
Reuse
A number of Kopvillem's melodies and lyrics have been covered in couplet songs by Talong.
“Olaf Kopvillem” enters the record as estonian singer and chemical engineer (1926-1997). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Olaf, Kopvillem and Estonian can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11279540. VIAF identifies the subject as 38668467. The Library of Congress control number is n97125943. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926, 1997, 1944 and 1996.
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This entry incorporates text from “Olaf Kopvillem” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.