George Miquelle was born in Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and began his studies at the age of five when he entered the Lille Conservatoire. At seven, he took up the cello

Cello

The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, studying under Emil Dienne. Before he was 19 he had won two first prizes playing at the Lille Conservatoire and at the Paris Conservatoire. After a brief but successful period of concertizing in Europe, Miquelle came to America with the French Military Band in May 1918 and toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada. While in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 he was engaged by the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Boston Symphony Orchestra

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...

. He left the orchestra in 1920 to devote himself to ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 playing. In 1920-21 he was cellist with the New York Chamber Music Society. He joined the Boston String Quartet

Boston String Quartet

The Boston String Quartet has been an accomplished creative leader in contemporary classical music in New England since 2005. The quartet is a high-energy string ensemble, that is continually "exploring different ways of sparking musical interest". Past collaborators include John Mayer, the...

 in 1921 and in 1923 toured the country with Dame Nellie Melba and Tito Schipa

Tito Schipa

Tito Schipa was an Italian tenor. He is considered one of the finest tenori di grazia in operatic history...

.
Between 1923 and 1954, Miquelle was solo cellist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...

. During this period he gave numerous sonata

Sonata

Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...

 recitals and chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 concerts with Ossip Gabrilowitsch

Ossip Gabrilowitsch

Ossip Gabrilowitsch was a Russian-born American pianist, conductor and composer.- Biography :...

, conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 1918 to 1936. He was also solo cellist with the Chautauqua

Chautauqua

Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...

 Summer Symphony for 15 years. He was a member of the artist faculty at the Eastman School of Music

Eastman School of Music

The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...

 from 1954 until 1966.

Selected discography

• Victor Herbert
  Victor Herbert
  Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
  
  , Cello Concerto No. 2 in E Minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op.30 Howard Hanson
  Howard Hanson
  Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...
  
   conducting the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra
  Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music....
  
  . Mercury Living Presence 434355-2