He is currently one of the world's most renowned clarinetists, Soloist in the Porto Casa da Música Symphony Orchestra, Clarinet Teacher at Esart. He was an Artist and Guest Professor at Arizona State University (USA) in 2009 and 2010.
He was Artistic Director of the Paços de Brandão International Music Festival from 2009 to 2012.
In Guimarães 2012 - European Capital of Culture, in the Master Pieces cycle, he was invited to be the soloist of the world premiere of the Mário Laginha Concert for Clarinet and Orchestra.
In 2013 he was appointed to the Jury of the General Direction of the Arts in the area of ​​Music.
In 2015 at the Gala Concert of the World Clarinet Congress in Madrid, he was the soloist together with Philippe Cuper and the Banda Sinfónica de Madrid at the premiere of the work Lara de González Moreno.
In 2016 he was the Portuguese soloist in the presentation of Craiova's Candidacy in Romania, the European Capital of Culture, having played solo with the Symphony Orchestra of Ontélia in the Great Cycle Europe Seasons.
He was awarded in the most important National and International Clarinet Contests, since very early he embraced an intense solo and chamber music career, which expands internationally in countries like USA, Russia, Germany, Austria, Holland, Norway, France, Italy, Spain , Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Macau, Brazil, etc.
He played solo with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Porto, the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, the Classical Orchestra of Madeira, the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra, the Classical Orchestra of Porto, the Southern Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of Constanza in Romania, J. Futura Orchestra in Italy and the Symphony Orchestra of Ontélia in Romania.
In his record works, the recording for the EMI Classics of the Concert for Mozart's Clarinet and Orchestra with Maestro Rui Massena and the Classical Orchestra of Madeira stands out.
In his CD recorded in the USA, Recital in the West (2010), in the company of the renowned pianist Caio Pagano, the North American press found the best interpretation of Brahms' first sonata: "This is undoubtedly the best version of the Brahms Sonata that I've heard it. Carlos Alves extracts a beautiful and superb sound from the clarinet, with an excellent sense of musical phrase throughout the work "(Arizona Republic, July 2010).
Carlos Piçarra Alves is Buffet Crampon artist, internationally considered one of the most important clarinetists today.