This Friday, Clarence Adoo will be returning to the stage to perform with Royal Northern Sinfonia again for the first time in 25 years.
It may be even longer - "it might be 27 years, I can't remember!" says the musician of his absence from the world-class local orchestra which was the reason he had moved to the North East in the first place.
The professional trumpet player came to the North East in 1992 to take up a job with what was then Northern Sinfonia, before it received its 'royal' title, and he has lived in Newcastle ever since.
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It was around two years after his arrival that he was in the car accident which left him paralysed from the neck downwards.
It was with the help of specially-made software that Clarence has been able to resume a music career: conducting again and now performing, with this week's classical concert - Sounds of the Sea - set to be a highlight of Sage Gateshead 's spring calendar and one which will be live-streamed across the world.
As the concert hall's resident orchestra takes to the stage, Clarence will be there as part of RNS Moves, an ensemble which includes five professional musicians with varying disabilities as well as five other Royal Northern Sinfonia members.
"It's a combination of two ensembles," explains Clarence who rates RNS Moves as among the best in the world at what they do and, passionate about the possibilities, he hopes they will inspire others with disabilities.
"How we work is pretty unique," he adds. There's an eclectic mix of instruments, including a harp, and each player has overcome his or her own challenges - one musician is without sight but memorises music - and they have learned to adapt and find ways to make music together.
Each time their interaction is different - and they love it.
Just as when he played trumpet with the Northern Sinfonia before his accident, he enjoys his continued work as a professional musician with RNS Moves. Both are "very rewarding" he says.
Clarence's own electronic instrument is unique. A software system, which he calls Headspace, is what has allowed him to get back to doing what he loves.
"It was designed for me to play music again," he says of the headset, whose follow-up, HiNote, was also made especially for him and enables him to create and control notes through his breathing. It requires huge concentration and effort, of course, so that will fully absorb him on Friday night on what might otherwise have proved a very emotional return to the stage.
The thinking time comes beforehand, he says, in the preparation and rehearsals. On the night itself, "I will immerse myself in trying to play perfectly!" he says. "I won't be thinking about anything else. When I play that instrument I'm totally unaware ... I'm so connected to the music."
The concert is described by Sage as "Mendelssohn braves wild Scottish seas; Vivaldi whips up a storm, and Handel puts a full orchestra on board a rowing boat for the ultimate 18th Century pleasure cruise."
Clarence adds: "Sometimes I'm at the last page of music and think 'oh no, there's only a couple of minutes left of being in this place with this music so, yeah, for me playing music elevates me above everything else."
And he is glad the live stream will be opening up their work to a wide audience, including family overseas. "I've got family in Norway and Africa so it will be great for them to sit down and see me live from those countries."
Last year Clarence was awarded a honorary fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music - a rare honour, its being a rival to the Royal College of Music where he studied as a young man.
He already has an MBE for his services to music and recently spoke to Government about the importance of funding music in special schools, pointing out that - besides the benefits it brings to wellbeing - it teaches disciplines that apply to all aspects of life.
He is on various boards involving young people and music and has also helped shape a simpler version of his electronic instrument for use by schoolchildren with disabilities, who don't have a voice. Clarence wants to show those young people who wouldn't know how to go about playing a musical instrument that "if I'm doing it then it's possible."
Friday's concert will start at 7.30pm. Tickets for both the performance and the livestream are available online here.
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