Klein won prizes at the international competitions in Geneva, Tokyo, New York and Prague, and is regularly invited to adjudicate international competitions at these institutions as well as in England, China and Russia. Klein left his position at the Chicago Symphony due to complications related to Musician’s Focal Dystonia, a neurological condition that inhibits two fingers in his left hand. During his convalescence, Klein dedicated his musical career to the advancement of young talents from Latin America and neglected communities, founding FEMUSC in 2006, the São Paulo International Chamber Music Festival in 2008, and PRIMA - Program of Social Inclusion through Music and the Arts in 2012. Klein also performed as an orchestral conductor in front of major Brazilian orchestras and in the United States, Europe and was the first Brazilian to lead one of China's top orchestras. After re-learning the oboe and sufficiently overcoming the limitations of focal dystonia, Klein successfully re-auditioned for his former position and returned to the Chicago Symphony in what Chicago Magazine called "one of the greatest comebacks of classical music." Alex Klein today is an oboe professor at DePaul University in Chicago, also teaching/performing at the Aspen, Buzzards Bay, Sunflower and Mostly Mozart festivals, and is regularly invited to teach master classes and recitals at North American universities. Klein recorded dozens of albums with the Chicago Symphony and as a soloist and chamber musician, with critical acclaim. His latest CD, released in 2019 by Cedille Records, with 20th Century Sonatas for oboe and piano, was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Producer of the Year”, and was thus lauded by critic David Canfield for Fanfare Magazine: "In my opinion, oboe playing simply does not get any better than this”.