The 34-year-old conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin hit it big overseas when he took on not one but two prime gigs early last year: music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. (The ace multi-tasker has also stayed on as artistic director of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, a position he has held for almost a decade.) “The musical world has a new hero,” announced the Berliner Morgenpost in November, after an evening spent with the elfin baton boy. Nézet-Séguin’s charms are legion. On the podium, his body language borders on interpretive dance; he’s all reaches, lunges and sways. Under his direction, tempos are crisp, melodies lean and speedy. No old-school dictator, he’s both cheerleader and shaman, more adoring than reverent. Toronto audiences will have their chance to swoon when Nézet-Séguin takes on Prokofiev and Ravel with the TSO. It’s a shame our newest national treasure has decamped for Europe. Yannick, we barely knew you.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin visits Roy Thomson Hall from March 25 to 28. $20–$125. 60 Simcoe St., 416-593-4828, www.tso.ca.