Spyros Mourikis was born in Corfu in 1974. He holds a clarinet diploma from the Athens Conservatory, having studied under Charalambos Farantatos, as well as a diploma from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where he studied clarinet with Michel Arrignon and chamber music with Maurice Bourgue.
At the international “Carl Nielsen” competition held in Odense, Denmark, in 1997, he was awarded First Prize, the Orchestra Prize, and the Audience Prize. That same year, he was also honored with the Prize of the Greek Association of Music Critics.
As a soloist, he has performed with all the major Greek orchestras, as well as with the European Union Wind Ensemble, the Odense Symphony Orchestra, Armonia Atenea, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico City Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Azerbaijan, the Qatar Philharmonic, the Rostov Symphony Orchestra, MusicAeterna, among others.
He has given recitals in major concert halls across Europe, including the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Cologne Philharmonie, Gasteig in Munich, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the chamber music hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen. He has participated in numerous international festivals such as the Musical July of Ancient Epidaurus, the Athens Concert Hall Chamber Music Festival, the Tivoli Festival, the Avignon Festival, the Diaghilev Festival, and the Salzburg Festival.
He is frequently invited to serve as a jury member in international clarinet competitions, such as the Carl Nielsen Competition in Odense (Denmark), the Gheorghe Dima Competition in Cluj (Romania), and the Jacques Lancelot Competition in Rouen (France). He has given masterclasses and lectures at numerous international institutions, including Bremen Universität, the Paderewski Music Academy in Poznań, the Nielsen Society in Copenhagen, Vandoren Music House in Paris, and Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.
As principal clarinet, he has collaborated with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Claudio Abbado and other renowned conductors.
In recent years, he has served as principal clarinet of the Utopia Orchestra under Teodor Currentzis, while since 2003, he has held the same position with the Athens State Orchestra. He is also a guest soloist with MusicAeterna and Armonia Atenea, specializing in historical clarinet performance.
He teaches clarinet at the Athens Conservatory and at the Athens branch of Goldsmiths, University of London.
His discography includes the Brahms and Mozart clarinet quintets with the string quartet of the Paris Opera (Agora), the Carl Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with the Odense Symphony Orchestra (Danish Radio), and the work “Reflexion des préludes” for clarinet by Danish composer Erik Bach, recorded with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Da Capo).
