Alexis Finet

Alexis Finet has played flute since his young age, that he mainly learned in France from Claire Béguin, and at the Orléans Conservatory, from Pierre Baranger, Arlette Biget, Phillippe Ferro; and later on, Danilo Mezzadri at the University of Southern Mississippi. While music is not his main career, he strives to maintain an active performing agenda, playing in a variety of genres and settings ranging from Celtic music and Brazilian choro to Tin Pan Alley jazz and the traditional "classical" repertoire.

Rama Kumaran

Rama Kumaran is a flutist in Nashville, TN. He has played the official recordings of Herman Beeftink's flute music for the last 10 years. As a teenager, he was the youngest winner of the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, later completing his Bachelors at Vanderbilt University and his Masters in classical and early music at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. As a Pearl Artist, he’s proud to represent Pearl’s low flutes — most recently, as a guest artist giving masterclasses, workshops, and recitals at university departments and flute festivals across the USA. Rama plays piccolo in the Jackson Symphony in west Tennessee, and as a Nashville recording artist he’s played orchestral and folk flutes on the soundtracks of movies, video games, and theme park attractions. When he's not practicing or out with friends, he's watching his favorite streamers or leveling up his characters in Honkai: Star Rail.

Benjamin Legg

Benjamin Legg coordinates the Portuguese language sequence. He teaches Portuguese-language courses at all levels, as well as courses on Brazilian and Lusophone African culture and literature and courses in Vanderbilt’s Core. Originally from New England, Dr Legg arrived at Vanderbilt in 2016 and within his time here he has helped organize activities celebrating Brazilian culture like Brazil Week, Festas Juninas and Carnaval celebrations, conversation clubs and language tables, and Portuguese-language film screenings and karaoke nights. He also led student groups on study abroad opportunities in Brazil and Spain. His areas of expertise are Portuguese-language pedagogy, Brazilian food studies, Brazil-U.S. cultural relations, Brazilian popular culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, Lusophone African literature and Portuguese-speaking diasporas in the United States. He has published on Brazilian cinema, Brazilian writers Machado de Assis, Clarice Lispector, Monteiro Lobato and Gilberto Freyre and cultural relations between Cabo Verde and Angola. Dr. Legg is also active in translation. He has interpreted for many Brazilian and Lusophone African cultural figures, and has published translations of Brazilian poetry and academic articles. Dr. Legg finished his PhD in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies 2016 at Brown University, and his undergraduate studies in Portuguese and Journalism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004. Contact Dr. Legg for information about the Portuguese language program and study abroad options in Brazil.