OneRepublic made a COVID-19 video. Bradenton family plays music in opening scene

An uplifting new music video from pop band OneRepublic has a hopeful message in the time of the coronavirus pandemic: Better days are ahead.

The video is a montage of thousands of submissions from around the world. In the opening scenes, a Florida family makes musical magic.

Nikki Rinsema and her children Annie, 13, and Wrigley, 11, start off the video with the sweet sounds of violins and a cello from their living room in Bradenton.

“It was pretty exciting,” said Rinsema in a phone interview with the Herald. “My kids, they’re young, and they kind of take it all in stride. I don’t know if they quite grasp that this was a little bit of a big deal for them. ... We asked if they had shared with their friends and our daughter said no, she didn’t want to brag about it.”

The song in the video, titled “Better Days,” is a single from OneRepublic’s new album “Human” set for release on May 8.

Rinsema, a professional musician, wrote the melody on the violin and put together the cello part as well.

That OneRepublic chose to open the video with a string trio is no surprise.

The band features Brent Kutzle on cello and often incorporates orchestral sounds into their pop hits.

And Rinsema has been a fan of the group for the past 10-15 years.

“Pretty much since they started,” Rinsema said.

Getting into the video

The band also shared some of their inspiration for creating the video, which was published to their official YouTube channel.

“We asked fans from around the world to send us their COVID-19 social-distancing and self-quarantining videos,” the video reads. “With thousands of submissions in just under one week — we created this video to show everyone’s resilience in the middle of this global pandemic.”

The Rinsema family was one of those who submitted their entry. It took roughly 45 minutes for Rinsema, who serves as the principal second violinist and next season’s concertmaster for The Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota, to practice the music before sending the finished product to OneRepublic.

Both of Rinsema’s kids attend Bradenton Christian School and are involved in youth and school orchestras while taking lessons for their instruments of choice. The performance submitted for OneRepublic’s video, Rinsema said, was a new way to do music with her kids.

“This is just a different and fun, creative, very relevant outlet for them to be able to make music,” Rinsema said.

Besides spreading a message of hope, the band has another goal with the video. Viewers are invited to donate to the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The funds raised will go to the World Health Organization for the costs of patient care, supplies for medical workers and the development of vaccines, tests and treatments.

So far, the fund has received over $1 million in donations, and Google has promised to match up to $5 million of proceeds raised.