Moriak is a hometown success story, rooted in Delaware classrooms, community programs, and local stages, before reaching movie theaters across the country.
WILMINGTON, Del. — A Wilmington native with deep roots in Delaware’s schools, music programs, and Scouting community is earning national recognition with a credit on the new film Anaconda, now playing in theaters nationwide.
Brendan Moriak is credited as the orchestrator on the film’s score, working as part of the music department on the Sony Pictures release, which opened Dec. 25. The movie is a meta action-comedy reboot of the 1997 cult classic and stars Paul Rudd and Jack Black as two friends whose attempt to make their own low-budget remake of “Anaconda” turns into a real fight for survival in the Amazon.
Moriak’s journey into professional film music began in Delaware. He started his education in the Christiana School District, where he was first introduced to music at a young age. His interest deepened through formal training at the School of Rock in Hockessin/Wilmington, where he performed publicly and collaborated with other young musicians while developing skills in ensemble performance and arrangement.
Outside the classroom, Moriak was active in Scouting and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 50, reflecting years of leadership, service, and commitment.
After graduating from Salesianum in the Class of 2018, Moriak enrolled at American University, where he demonstrated a growing talent for music composition. After graduation and a lifetime of preparation, he immediately moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film music.
Like many young artists starting out, Moriak faced significant challenges early on. After arriving in California with only the possessions that would fit in his car, he connected with friends, secured a very small apartment, and started working to establish himself professionally, meet people, and find a paying job.
“He was betting on himself,” Chris Moriak, father, said of the move. “There was no guarantee — just the belief that the work would eventually speak for itself.” Chirs Moriak added “a speical thank you to everyone who in Delaware who contributed to inspiring and supporting Brendan’s dream”.
For “Anaconda,” the film’s score was composed by David Fleming, whose work established the musical themes and emotional framework of the movie. Moriak’s role as an orchestrator placed him directly in the creative process of bringing those ideas to life.
In film production, orchestrators translate a composer’s themes and sketches into fully realized arrangements for orchestra or ensemble. That work includes assigning musical lines to specific instruments, balancing sound across sections, and preparing scores and parts for recording sessions. Orchestrators work closely with the composer and respond to the director’s vision for how music should support tone, pacing, and storytelling.
Moriak’s work helped bridge Fleming’s compositions with the direction of filmmaker Tom Gormican, ensuring the final score aligned with the film’s blend of comedy, action, and creature-horror.
“At the box office, ‘Anaconda’ opened to a mid-tier performance during a crowded holiday release window, finishing its opening weekend in the national top five.”
For Wilmington audiences, Moriak’s credit on the big screen at the end of the movie represents more than a name in the closing titles. It reflects a high-level creative role within a major studio production — and a hometown success story rooted in Delaware classrooms, community programs, and local stages before reaching movie theaters across the country.
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