George studied the oboe with Janet Craxton and Evelyn Barbirolli at the Royal Academy of Music, with Helmut Winschermann at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie, and privately with Neil Black. He gained an MA in music at Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating to pursue a freelance career as an oboist. He worked with many of London's major orchestras including the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, City of London Sinfonia and was a member of The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields from 1983 to 1993. George has also been a member of a number of ensembles, notably as a founder-member of The Albion Ensemble, Vega Wind Quintet and Caird Oboe Quartet.

In addition to many orchestral recordings, he has recorded CDs of solo and chamber music repertoire including ‘An English Renaissance' of quintets and quartets for oboe and strings, and Britten's Six Metamorphoses after Ovid as part of his published study on that work. Among the works written for him are Paul Patterson's Duologue, John Gardner's Second Oboe Sonata, Andrew Downes' sonata, In the Gardens of Burdwan, John Mayer's Abhut Sangit and in chamber music, Elizabeth Maconchy's Wind Quintet, Paul Patterson's Comedy for Winds and Jim Parker's Mississippi Five.

George joined the Royal Academy of Music as professor of oboe in 1984, became Head of Woodwind in 1987 and Head of Orchestral Studies in 1989. In September 1993, he was appointed Principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University, a post that he held until August 2010. From 2011 - 2016, George was Artistic Director of the Classical Music Academy, Codarts Rotterdam, from 2017 - 2018, interim Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and from 2020 – 2021, interim Principal of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. George continues to teach the oboe at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, is President of the Barbirolli International Oboe Competition, President of the Bromsgrove International Music Competition and a Trustee of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.