HE was born and brought up in Kiev, attending the National Tchaikovsky Music Academy. Later, he continued his studies in Vienna and Stuttgart and made his first public conducting appearance at the age of 19.

He was assistant conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and then associate conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonic de Radio France.

So how was it that in 2006, Kirill Karabits found himself on s train heading south from London to a place he had never heard of?

Sitting in the lounge of Hotel du Vin, the charismatic and deep principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra explains.

“I was invited to come and do Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony when I was in Strasbourg. I remember it very well.

“I took the train after flying into Heathrow and I got off at Bournemouth station because I did not realise the orchestra was based in Poole.

“I had to get a taxi. It was a bit of a surprise to me. It was my first time to the UK too. I had never been here before.

“I was going to conduct this particular symphony which I knew backwards and I thought it was just another guest conducting so I would do the best I could.

“Then at the first rehearsal something happened.

“Sometimes it is called chemistry between a conductor and an orchestra, it’s difficult to explain.

“It’s like you meet someone and after five minutes you feel close to them. This happened between me and the orchestra. I felt so understood and so happy with them.”

Within a few months he had been offered the job full-time and after four years, the chemistry is still there.

“Yes, those vibrations are still there, even after four years. I know my orchestra and I hope they like me.

“I always feel with them that with every performance, they are on the edge.”

For the BSO to get the Ukrainian’s signature on the contract was a massive coup.

He has been called one of the current generation of superconductors. Thrilling. A star.

He is mildly embarrassed when I remind him that he has been described in such terms.

Read his CV and it is staggering to be reminded that Karabits is still only 36. But what makes a great conductor?

“A great conductor leaves a lasting impression on the audience and gives them a real experience, the feeling that when it’s all over, something has changed for them.

“You really need to enjoy the performance and the audience will enjoy it too.”

The BSO is based in Poole but Karabits would like to do more in Bournemouth – the leader of Bournemouth Council is one of his biggest fans and he would like that too.

Hence the invitation to perform two concerts on June 29 at the new-look Waterfront site, to celebrate the end of the IMAX.

“One of my strategic goals was always to play more concerts in Bournemouth because there is nothing stronger than the bond between the orchestra and the city that bears its name,” says the conductor.

“There is a great acoustic shell in the Pavilion and I really believe in the idea of a concert hall on the Waterfront site in Bournemouth. It would brilliant.

“We need to involve ourselves more in the life of Bournemouth and establish stronger links with the community.”

Karabits says he is very excited by the two Waterfront concerts. “I agreed to do them immediately even though it wasn’t on the agenda.

“This will be an amazing occasion and everyone is looking forward to it.”

He would also like to develop links between Bournemouth and the town near Kiev where he has a home. He plans to invite the mayor over for the Waterfront event.

Karabits lives in Paris but spends as much time in Dorset as he does in France.

“I feel very much at home here. It is a wonderful area and I feel very privileged to be a part of it.”

He walks in the Purbeck hills and on the beaches of Bournemouth and Poole when he has some spare time.

It’s probably a question that irritates him, but he doesn’t let it show if it is. What are his favourite pieces of music?

“Oh, there are so many great pieces it is really hard, but if I had to choose I think it would be one of the Mozart’s later symphonies, one of Prokofiev’s, probably Number 7, and then perhaps a piece by Rachmaninov or Schubert.

“If I was put on a desert island, I wouldn’t take anything with me, not even music because I wouldn’t want to hear the same piece over and over again.”

This will be a busy year for both Karabits and the BSO.

There’s the BSO’s 120th anniversary concert on May 18, the Waterfront performances, a Russian extravaganza at Lighthouse and a Prom concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Next season will also be exciting. The BSO will be recording some of Britten’s works and also performing with the Royal Marines at Portsmouth.

Karabits will also be conducting the Flying Dutchman as part of the Wagner Festival in Switzerland this year, marking 200 years since the composer’s birth.

He has also been shortlisted for the Conductor award in the Royal Philharmonic Society’s award and will find out the result on May 14 – the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK.

Previous winners of the prize include Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons and Sir Simon Rattle.

But for all that, he comes back to the subject of Bournemouth.

“I would really like people to tell us what they would like to hear and when. I want to attract new and younger audiences to our performances.

“We could do rush-hour and lunchtime concerts, all sorts of things.”