One of its other contributions is in the form of music education (scholarships), frequent free public performances, and the hosting of an annual jazz festival that has featured the best of the professional and amateur banjo community since the 1970s.

They called themselves the Cupertino Banjo Band and the original nine members were Glenn Atkinson, Jerry Deerwester, Don Flora, Pearl Nicolino, Chuck Ray Sr., Manuel Rodriques, Steve Sedlak, Sidney Steele, and Merle Wilhelm.

[citation needed] In 1964, the owner of the Sakura Gardens restaurant in Mountain View, California was in Tokyo for the summer Olympics[6] and discovered a young devotee of famous banjoist Harry Reser.

Succeeding presidents have included Leo Campey, Glenn Atkinson, Cas Stockard, Bob Delaney, Chuck Daley, Terry Bull, John Goulais, Carl Adams, Paul Nearhood, Tom James, Gene Ripley, Helen Wick Martin, George Thum, Ray Ferrie, Flo Lewis, Floyd Oatman, Steve Adkins, Jim Strickland, Bob Lasley of Scarlett LaRue's jazz club, and Christopher Bracher.

In 2008 Jim Strickland accomplished what no other previous band president had achieved, he convinced music director Charlie Tagawa to make a professional recording of several of his virtuoso performances.

It was originally distributed in printed form and mailed to each band and auxiliary member plus selected fans and people in the banjo community.

Around the same time Strickland starting researching and writing a series of articles about the history of the music and lyric writers for the songs in the PBB's library.

During that time he was treated regularly at Stanford University Hospital by Dr. Richard Wilbur, a pediatric oncologist on the full-time faculty.

[10] The foundation portion of the organization, separate from the musical group, has established a scholarship program for banjo lessons and washtub bass (gutbucket) training.

In memory of band members Ray Ferrie and George Seeband who bequeathed their banjos to the band, those wishing to learn to play the plectrum banjo are awarded a "Ray Ferrie Scholarship" and those studying tenor are awarded a "George Seeband Scholarship".

It has been the opening number for the PBB at every performance including weekly practices, jazz festivals, TV shows, and bookings since the 1970s.

The band's primary source of funds permitting charitable donations and scholarships has been playouts or bookings - "gigs" in musician vernacular.

In addition to the standard and recurring array of local playouts, the band has enjoyed numerous unique engagements in around the South Bay; e.g., playing the National Anthem at a San Francisco Giants baseball game at Candlestick Park, the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the De Young Museum, numerous Cherry Blossom Festivals in San Francisco's Japan town, Black and White Ball's, the grand reopening of San Francisco's cable car line, for President Bill Clinton and later Vice President Al Gore at Democratic Party fund raisers in Portola Valley, California, and the Conference of Mayors (where then Mayor Willie Brown directed the band for a short stint and did a little cakewalk).

This annual show debuted in 1973 in Palo Alto, California and became the band's premiere musical event to showcase the banjo talent of the world to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Headliners included Peter Meyer (Germany), Clem Vickery (England), Maurice Bolyer (Canada) and Charlie Tagawa (Japan).

Featured soloists are almost too numerous to list, but include Buddy Wachter, Béla Fleck, Don Vappie (of Preservation Hall in New Orleans), and the late Scotty Plummer.

In 2011, the Jubilee was a benefit for Japan earthquake, tsunami, and typhoon relief efforts and took place on Sunday, September 11.

Having outgrown the music store, a gentleman by the name of Ward Pinther offered to host the band at his Straw Hat Pizza Palace[12] in Campbell, California.

Not to be deterred, the band moved to yet another Straw Hat Pizza restaurant in the nearby San Jose neighborhood of Willow Glen.

Both playing and auxiliary members have voting rights as long as they meet certain annual criteria laid out in the Standing Rules of the Bylaws.

An honorary member is any person who has made significant contribution to the objectives of the Peninsula Banjo Band and are elected after nomination by the Board of Directors.

In September of that year the band moved to a different location in Sunnyvale, Cabritos restaurant, and changed the day of their performances to Wednesdays.

Visiting banjo players and other performers are welcome to play with the group upon receiving permission from Charlie Tagawa or the presiding band leader of the evening.

These days it is Lowrey and band members Bob Lasley, Sam Morocco, and Joyce Taylor taking turns at the microphone along with the occasional guest singer.

Again a search was made to find another suitable location and once again (then) band president, musician, and veteran night club manager Bob Lasley came to the rescue.

Through his efforts and musical connections Lasley arranged for the band to perform at one of the Harry's Hofbrau restaurants in San Jose.

Board meetings are monthly, with elections held on the evening of the first weekly practice session of each December with instant inauguration of the new officers.

The band has enjoyed and benefited greatly from the efforts of numerous ambitious and hard working board members over the decades.

Many of the band's members were (and still are) engineers, executives, and administrators from various Silicon Valley companies such as FMC, IBM, Lockheed Martin, and Xerox.

Record keeping has been fastidious over the years with the band still in possession of meeting minutes and the personal notes of individual board members going back to 1973.