Shcherbinin himself disdained taking pride in the achievements of one's family, telling friends that "what matters most is what you are, not who your ancestors were.

During his studies in Leningrad, he met Dmitri Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Georges Simenon; the latter gifted him a cigar as a memento.

From 1997 to 2000, then again from 2003 until his death, Shcherbinin was part of the faculty of the Department of Philosophy at the Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University, where he also served as lecturer, curator, and photographer.

[5] As a musicologist, he promoted contemporary Ukrainian classical music and revival of interest in the culture of Sloboda Ukraine throughout his career.

In 2013, Shcherbinin and a friend, Mikhail Krasikov, petitioned the mayor of Kharkiv to erect a museum dedicated to the region's musical history.

He later approached Shcherbinin expressing surprise about the extent of his personal collection and told him that the university would be willing to host his museum.

[10] In 1967, Shcherbinin had been gifted a number of Slatin's belongings, including his baton, by Konstantin Doroshenko [uk], one of the conductor's students.

[8] The museum also has an exhibit dedicated to the first female conductor in Ukraine, Alisa Vidulina [uk].

One of the university staff joked to Shcherbinin that even Kharkiv's Palace of Sports would not be big enough to hold his entire collection.