Salonga completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1994, and briefly studied music theory with Filipino composer Ryan Cayabyab.

Among his stints as musical director and orchestral conductor, foremost of which are his projects with his sister Lea, Gerard Salonga arranges and conducts for Filipino OPM stars such as Lani Misalucha, Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez, and hosts of others.

[2]In 2004 and 2005, he arranged and produced compelling station IDs for The Filipino Channel, both of which won the Promax World Silver Award in New York City ("Best Use of Music/Post Score with or without lyrics").

In 2006, together with FILharmoniKA, Salonga embarked on a series albums of titled Musika Natin [Our Music], highlighting works by great Filipino composers, some of which have been forgotten and some never performed.

[3] Recent releases featured compositions by the teacher-composer Lucio San Pedro, jazz maestro Angel Peña,[4] and martial bandleader, Col. Antonio Buenaventura.

A fifth album release, Kumpas, featured orchestral renditions of anthems by guest Pinoy Rock icons Ely Buendia, Sampaguita, Noel Cabangon, and Wally Gonzales.