Daniel Gonko earned his Bachelor's Degrees in Music Theory/Composition and Music Education at Central Michigan University studying under Dr. David Gillingham and Dr. José-Luis Martua. He is currently working on his Masters Degree at Western Carolina University studying Commercial and Electronic Music with Dr. Bruce Frazier.

Mr. Gonko maintains active schedules as both a freelance composer, with projects ranging from competitive drum line books to independent film scores, and as a performer. His jazz combo performs weekly in Western North Carolina. His primary performance teachers have included Robert Hohner and Dr. Andrew Spencer.