LONDON, ONT. -- It's an inspiring music video aimed at chasing away the COVID-19 blues. Performed by music students at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School (STA), they are asking everyone 'Rise Up.'

The video was put together virtually under the direction of teacher Cathy Lourenco.

“I wanted them to experience something meaningful and uplifting in a time of hardship and uncertainty,“ says Lourenco.

Grade 12 student Lauren DaSilva was a part of the music video.

“It made me really think about the time we're in and how the message of the song is so powerful about rising up...and getting through this,” she says.

The video took about three weeks to put together and was produced by London musician Mark Payne. Even though the students sing as one, they were recorded separately.

“We would always have our mics muted and we would never hear each other singing so it was really cool to see how the song came together and how it came to play,” says Grade 11 student Patrick Gui.

Like everyone else the students at STA say living through the pandemic has been challenging and missing out on high school life has been tough.

“Being in Grade 12 there's a lot of things that we look forward to that we are not sure we even get to look forward to the prom and grad,” says DaSilva.

Still both staff and students are trying to look on the bright side.

Lourenco says, “It just proves that even teaching virtually music cannot be silenced.”