Evelyn Natalie Caine (1909–2008)

Natalie Caine was an oboist and one of the first female woodwind players to establish themselves in leading British orchestras. She is frequently referred to by her married name Natalie James. She was born Evelyn Natalie Caine in Hoylake in Cheshire and was educated at St Felix School, in Southwold, Suffolk. She enrolled in the Royal College of Music in 1928. She married Cecil James in 1938, a bassoonist with the Royal Air Force Central Band. They had daughters. Caine combined her freelance musical career with working with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the London Baroque Ensemble. She was professor of oboe at the Royal College of Music from 1964 to 1979.