In 1939 he traveled on the Kindertransport to England to escape Hitler's regime and in 1940 he was reunited with his parents in New York City.
[1] Though Naegele began his studies privately he was admitted to the High School of Music and Art, then on to Queens College and completed a doctorate in musicology at Princeton University.
He also received a Fulbright Scholarship, allowing him to study at the Vienna Academy of Music under Franz Samohyl.
[1] He was known for his involvement with the Marlboro Music Festival, which he had performed at since its inception.
[2][3] At Marlboro College he was under the tutelage of Adolf Busch, who he called his "idol".