shchetynsky graduated from the kharkiv art institute in 1983. although he studied composition officially with valentyn borysov, another ukrainian composer, valentyn bibik, strongly influenced him in those formative years. another important source of inspiration was so called soviet musical avant-garde: edison denisov, alfred schnittke, arvo pärt, sofia gubaidulina, valentin silvestrov. later shchetynsky participated in master classes with edison denisov and poul ruders in denmark, and summer courses in poland, where he attended lectures by louis andriessen, witold lutosławski, krzysztof penderecki, boguslaw schaeffer, and magnus lindberg. music of the second viennese school, olivier messiaen, and györgy ligeti had a significant impact on shchetynsky.