Fanis Kourouklidis is a professional Pontic lyra performer from Greece. His dynamic style and prowess has made him a favorite among listeners worldwide. He was born in Thessaloniki in 1976. His father's family originated from Ak-Tas in Kotyora (Tr: Ordu), Pontus while his mother's family originated from the Santa and Kars regions.
Kourouklidis began taking Pontic lyra lessons at the age of 6 with the encouragement of his mother Alexandra. By the age of 12, he was performing professionally, making him the youngest ever professional performer of the instrument. His first teacher was his uncle Stavros Kourouklidis. He was also taught for four years by one of the finest instructors, Takis Sachinidis. Kourouklidis was also influenced by renowned Pontic lyra player, Panayiotis Aslanidis.
Kourouklidis has performed overseas and within Greece alongside the industry's best performers including Grigoris Tsalgatidis, Stathis Nikolaidis, Michalis Kaliontzidis, Christos Papadopoulos, Kostas Theodosiadis, Stavros Savidis, Yianis Kourtidis and Babis Kemanetzidis. In 1994, he began performing with Theodoros Pavlidis, a person he developed a very close friendship with. Kourouklidis often performs at festivals and with Pontic social groups.
Around 2005, he founded the music school Apollo which provides tuition to enthusiasts of the Pontic lyra, both young and old.
He has produced 17 personal recordings with record label VASIPAP and performed in 10 other recordings with the biggest names in the Pontic music industry.